Eline Moses sworn in as seventh TRNUC commissioner |14 April 2020

Eline Moses taking her oath in the presence of President Danny Faure (Photo: Thomas Meriton)

Well-known civil society advocate Eline Moses is the seventh member of the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission (TRNUC), after she was sworn in during a brief ceremony held at the State House on Thursday morning.

Mrs Moses, who is filling the vacancy created by the resignation of one of the two original non-Seychellois commissioners, Pierre Rosario Domingue, in October 2019, took her oath before President Danny Faure as required by the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission Act 2018, in the presence of chairperson of the TRNUC commission Gabrielle McIntyre and secretary of state for cabinet affairs Mohamed Afif.

She has been actively engaged in civil society organisations in various capacities for many years. She has been deployed in nine election observation missions abroad and has also been observing local elections through the NGO Citizens Democracy Watch Seychelles (CDWS) which she chaired until last year.

“The decision to take up the role was not an easy one but that I am always encouraging youths and others to exercise their right and participate in governance, so I feel as though I also have an obligation to contribute towards the commission and country, our country which needs all of us,” she said.

“My role is to ensure that the commission achieves its mandate and most people who know me, know that I maintain impartiality and I value integrity, and work as per the rules in every position which I occupy. I think this is what today proves, that there are people who have recognised my work ethic and values over the years. I think as professionals, we all have certain values to which we attach some importance and for me that start with respect for the dignity of each individual, and finding a balance or two sides of the coin. It is not easy but if you are aware and focused on your objective and mandate, you can do it,” she stated.

Mrs Moses has served as a volunteer in the civil society and is a co-founder of CDWS and has served as its chairperson from 2013 to 2019. She is also the founder and coordinator of the DISMOI Seychelles established last year, and has been active in the following areas of interventions – democracy, good governance and human rights. She has been doing all these on a volunteer basis.

Mrs Moses’ appointment was recommended to President Faure by the Constitutional Appointments Authority (CAA). It must be noted that at the time the Act was drafted in 2018 the law required that there are five Seychellois commissioners and two non-Seychellois commissioners but was subsequently amended by the National Assembly in December 2019, to allow for the appointment of a Seychellois to the vacant post.

“The Act provides for seven commissioners, an odd number, which is always good when you have a commission and you have decision-making. If we had the six that we had, we could have situations where three think one thing and three another so it is always good to have an odd number,” Mrs Mcintyre explained.

To date, the commission has taken on 130 cases and has struggled with backlogs as important files and evidence in some of the cases are difficult to trace and obtain from relevant authorities.

Mrs Moses is set to start work right away, familiarising herself with the standard operating procedures that govern the commission’s work, including hearing procedures, rules of procedure and evidence and codes of conduct among others. She will also have access to the first report submitted to the President, to provide her with a complete overview of the commission’s mandate and progress made thus far.

“It is going to be a little difficult for her as we are not meeting but there are a lot of regulatory documents, we have, so she will be familiarising herself with the procedures, will be in touch through email, providing her with more information and how we work, so that when we come back together she should be able to slot in easily,” Mrs McIntyre explained.

For the present moment, the TRNUC remains closed after it shut down two weeks ago when the first COVID-19 cases were recorded in Seychelles. However, Mrs McIntyre assured that members of the commission are working from home and that the break allows for the commission to catch up on determinations and investigations in the cases before them.

Laura Pillay