Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission (TRNUC) |04 June 2020

More complaints of victimisation within police force, unjustified termination, army tactics revealed

Three complainants and former chief of operations in the army and people’s militia Robert Ernesta yesterday appeared before the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission (TRNUC).

The first witness, John Gouffe, set out his complaint in which he alleges that he was physically assaulted and beaten by three Police Mobile Unit (PMU) officers in 1993, on the day in which multiparty state was announced by former President France Albert Rene.

Case 0126: John Gouffe

Mr Gouffe noted that he was a member of the Parti Seselwa, an opposition party which was established during the 1990s by Wavel Ramkalawan and others who now form part of the opposition, and at the time was residing with Mr Ramkalawan at Bel Eau.

At the time, he and two others were involved in the distribution of pamphlets and leaflets under the party’s flag, a mission they would accomplish during the weekends after Barrel nightclub closed its doors in the early hours of the morning, where he would drive his pick-up to a specific location, and switch to a hired car, in order to distribute the materials.

“On the day multiparty state was announced by Mr Rene, at lunchtime I went to the police camp at Mont Fleuri to visit my mother and after I saw them and made my way out to my vehicle, I saw a white Suzuki Maruti with three PMU officers inside. I had a Parti Seselwa flag on the pickup, for the reason that multiparty had been announced the very same day so I thought I had nothing to fear but on seeing them, I started my vehicle and they followed me, if I slowed down or sped up, so did they,” he recounted.

“They followed me to Bel Eau where I was residing and proceeded to inform Mr Ramkalawan that Andre Quilindo had instructed that I be brought to the station. Mr Ramkalawan advised me to go and gave me his word that he would communicate with the Commissioner of Police in the meantime,” Mr Gouffe stated.

He claims that he was driven away and remained untouched until reaching the Bois de Rose vicinity, where in a wooded area, the officers instructed him to disembark from the vehicle and he was then kicked in the back, leading him to fall head first on the ground, where they proceeded to beat him and assault him with the butt of guns and accusing him of wanting to oust President Rene.

At one point, he claims, one of the officers, all three which he identified by name to the commission, said to kill him but another disagreed, on account that his family had witnessed his arrest, and it was then decided that Mr Gouffe should be taken to military camp.

Mr Gouffe continued on to state that he was further beaten at the camp until half an hour later where Mr Quilindo instructed that he is to be released upon the instruction of the Commissioner, although Quilindo told Mr Gouffe that this is only the beginning but there was more to come. At that point he was escorted to the gate where he was picked up by Mr Ramkalawan and transported to hospital.

M Gouffe further stated that he has been victimised, mainly under the leadership of former President James Michel, resulting in his contractor’s license being revoked from him, although he was still able to find work in the private sector.

He admitted to the commission that he monitored the three officers who abused him and planned revenge but then decided against the idea.

Case 0239: Trevor Mein

Despite appearing before the commission to set out his own complaint of victimisation after leaving the army and joining the police force, Trevor Mein detailed some of the missions and unjustified acts committed by army personnel, during the 90s.

Mr Mein told the commissioners of various instances where army personnel, including him as a Private, abused their power and authority, terrorising people, beating them and going as far as rubbing chilli over the wounds, and threatening them at gun point, detailing different scenarios and listing individuals who were at their mercy, especially those who were taken to Grand Police. At the time, he recalls that they were under the command of Major Robert Ernesta, among other superiors.

Similarly to the accounts of former army personnel, Mr Mein noted that drugs and arms were rampant among civilians at the time, and that most of their missions were focused around finding such items and taking action against the criminals.

Outlining his own complaint of victimisation while employed in the police force as a National Constable Special Police in 2014, under the leadership of Commissioner Ernest Quatre, Mr Mein claims that he was selected to be on a special task force, the Vines Intervention Component (VIC), established to combat drugs and he was one of the officers who made the most arrests.

According to Mr Mein, the unit faced resistance from some other officers and at a certain point, members of VIC had their weapons taken away from them and were sent to attend a training course. They later faced difficulties in getting their weapons back to facilitate their jobs, he said.

Eventually, Mr Mein claims, one day he received a call from another officer to return the pistol which he had kept in his possession for over one and a half years along with 15 bullets. Prior to that, he said, he was warned that he might be sacked by a lady, but he was unbothered on account of his professional performance. He however returned the pistol and bullets and lodged a case with the Public Service Appeal Board (PSAB). After eight months, PSAB ruled that he would be reinstated in the police, although he noted numerous difficulties in getting salary payments for those eight months.

Following his reinstating, Mr Mein claims that he was always left out of National Drugs Enforcement Agency (NDEA) along with another officer, but worked together to make arrests, until one day they were again instructed to attend a training course. He was then transferred to Central Police Station and was again suspended for three months and his salary halved, after he was accused of consuming alcohol while in official police attire, supposedly at a political party.

Chairperson of the commission, Gabrielle McIntyre, questioned Mr Mein as to whether a group of individuals in the police force are heavily involved with selling drugs to civilians, as evidence from other cases would suggest so, to which Mr Mein confidently said yes multiple times.

Mr Mein is seeking compensation for salary payments which he claims he is entitled to, as well as for moral damage. He eventually left the force in November 2017, for numerous reasons which he stated, including lack of respect from the public, the lack of seriousness from the police to assist those in most need and to adhere to proper and ethical practices, as well as preferential treatment in the judicial system he says.

Asked whether he feels remorse for his involvement in violating the rights of other persons, Mr Mein expressed remorse, telling the commissioners of a particular instance whereby he purposely turned a blind eye to a criminal, identified as Moumou, hiding in the ceiling of a house, so as to save him from a severe beating.

Mr Mein also shed light on some of the other instances where escapees were shot and killed and denied that he has been directly involved in any acts that led to death. He was hesitant about the proposition to appear again in a closed session to disclose what he knows about other army missions that led to the death of Ricky Hermitte among others, and instead provided the commission with the name of the alleged perpetrator in the case of Ricky Hermitte, a former army commando who was killed.

Robert Ernesta

Former chief of operations in the army and PM contacted the commission and voluntarily came forward again as he claims that the commission may not be getting accurate information.

“I feel like there is total confusion regarding space and time of events that occurred in the past,” started Mr Ernesta, before making numerous recommendations to the commission.

He proposed that the commission acquire a timeline of the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF), pointing out that Grand Police served many purposes over the years and was not simply a camp for demoted and disobedient officers, as proposed by many witnesses, he said.

Mr Ernesta explained the notion of security clearance, a requirement which numerous complainants claim was used to victimise persons and army personnel who did not support the system, noting that security clearance is a normal process for some categories of jobs and missions, such as guarding the president.

He also detailed administrative processes in different scenarios, such as when officers have grievances against their commanding officers.

“The issue with the Seychelles army is that the Coup happened in 1977 and an army was formed overnight and they had no military knowledge. Gradually, other officers attended training overseas and they came back with their baggage, but what do you do, call everyone a madman?” Mr Ernesta said, noting that at the time, the norm was “junior in rank, senior in appointment”.

Contrary to what has been said by a complainant, Mr Ernesta claimed that he was a staff officer and not a commanding officer and while he acknowledged that he never lobbied for the welfare of soldiers, he actively looked after their welfare, refuting allegations that he had intentions of leading either the military, or the police.

With regard to the 2001 presidential elections, where Mr Ernesta claims he assisted only with internal security, the campaign started well before the closure of the voters register, he said. According to Mr Ernesta, now retired Chief of the army Leopold Payet and Colonel Clifford Roseline were involved and soldiers were moved around by the voting register to create a majority in certain districts.

“Come election day, soldiers and police vote earlier so as to resume their activities and there was nothing much to do, but erect a line of army between the supporters of Seychelles National Party (SNP) and that of the government. I went to the Bel Eau camp and the unit had been depleted, the results were to be announced later, and Payet said the president instructed that a platoon be sent to State House, Maison du Peuple. Albert Rene took command of his army and took all the men and returned them to his unit and depleted all other units. You feel there is an issue, Albert Rene had a plan and he had drawn his line. When elections were announced, officers started to come back and by 3am the unit was full again. If Albert Rene lost the election, no one knew what would have happened but he had all the force and all the force were with him,” Mr Ernesta stated.

He went on to say that there was a lot of friction between those senior in hierarchy in the army, and that such was the intention of former president Albert Rene so as to divide and conquer.

In the case of the supposed explosion which allegedly killed Mike Asher and Simon Desnousse, Mr Ernesta said it was likely there was “an explosion but no explosive”, explaining that if a car is doused with fuel and it is lit, there will be a massive explosion, and that in an explosion everything moves outwards from the epicentre, and there would therefore be pressure on windows. He said that the bodies of the two men, which were apparently sitting in the back of the car, their bodies were at centre of the pressure and therefore did not move. He said with confidence that there could not have been explosive substance inside the car, as the bodies and car would have been ripped to shreds.

Mr Ernesta further claims that over the years he was fed money through the army as he needed for his own personal use, affirming that indeed it was taxpayer’s money.

He also enlightened the commission as to the work and mandate of the Elite unit, which was established to combat drugs and criminality, under his leadership, noting no standard operating procedures and lack of readiness for missions.

Mr Ernesta will be called back before the commission at a later date. He served as chief of operations in the SPDF from 1992 to 2007.

Case 0130: David Andre

The now-Mayor of Victoria, David Andre, was the third complainant to set out his complaint yesterday and started off by iterating his background in music education, after being awarded scholarships over the years.

According to Mr Andre, he returned in 1984 to work in the Ministry of Education and started to work on a music education programme and managed to establish a small music school at La Bastille. In 1986, he was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship and left for Canada to study and came back with both a bachelors and Master degree in music education and curriculum development in 1988 where he took up post as assistant director of the Conservatoire of Music. In early 1990s the school became the Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

While still occupying the post, Mr Andre claims that he was a few months later shocked to learn that the conservatoire was to become the College of the Arts and through a letter dated July 10, 1997, which he received five days later, informing him of the restructuring and that he should relinquish his duties as head of the school.

Mr Andre further claimed that he tried to meet with the concerned minister at the time, as he felt as though he should have been consulted throughout the restructuring process and felt as though he had contributed significantly towards the development of culture and arts in the country at the time. Despite being turned away from the minister several times, he sought answers from then President Albert Rene to which the president answered that it was brutal but that he could nonetheless not interfere with the decision of his ministers and that he could do nothing to alleviate the problems Mr Andre was faced with, such as his housing loan and being unemployed.

Mr Andre seized the opportunity to thank all those who have helped him after he was sacked, and others who have contributed towards his many projects in the past.

Laura Pillay