President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim resigned on Saturday to the speaker of parliament, according to his lawyer.
Yousuf Mohamed, his lawyer, told the Mauritian media that the head of state resigned for the best interests of the nation. She will have to leave her position on March 23rd. Ms. Fakim had been charged with financial irregularities. These accusations eventually deteriorated his relations with Pravind Jugnauth, the prime minister.
The only woman president of the continent is accused of using a credit card issued by an international non-governmental organization to buy clothing and jewelery in Italy and Dubai. The resignation of Mrs. Gurib-Fakim puts an end to the political drama that agitates this archipelago of the Indian Ocean since the publication by the Mauritian daily L’Express of bank documents demonstrating that the president had used for personal purposes a credit card provided by PEI.
The amount of expenses (jewelry, brand shoes …) amounted to at least 25,000 euros, according to the daily. The case is also scandalous because it involves the Angolan billionaire Alvaro Sobrinho, a controversial businessman who finances PEI and who, since 2015, tried several times to invest in Mauritius, according to L’Express, which had already triggered polemics.
