New Commissioner of Police sworn in |19 June 2021

Commissioner Barbe taking his oaths (Photo: Jude Morel)

Ted Michael Barbe was sworn in as the new Commissioner of Police at State House on Thursday morning before President Wavel Ramkalawan. 

He took the Oath of Allegiance to the Constitution and the Oath of Office.

The event was attended by the ministers and high government officials.  

In accordance with Article 160 section (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Seychelles, on June 2 President Ramkalawan wrote to the Speaker of the National Assembly proposing the nomination of Mr Barbe as Commissioner of Police. This was approved by the National Assembly on Wednesday June 16.

After Mr Barbe had been sworn in, President Ramkalawan made a speech in which he emphasised that Mr Barbe has been appointed to this post based on his vast expertise and experience. He described Mr Barbe as the best candidate to take on the responsibilities bestowed on him today.

“There is an immense task ahead. We are in a situation today in the country where there is high expectation from our police force. In the debate in the National Assembly, members expressed how the people of Seychelles want to see a reformed police force, one that addresses the people’s concerns and where officers act with more professionalism in the discharge of their duties. My appeal to the public is to work in collaboration with the police and do not expect miracles to happen immediately,” said the President.

Addressing Mr Barbe directly, President Ramkalawan said: “The people of Seychelles aspire to see our men and women in uniform form part of a police force that is transformed and disciplined. It is through this transformation that our police force will regain the respect it deserves and to ensure our people abide by the laws in place. Our citizens want to see a police force that is efficient and prepared to take action against criminality in the country.”

The President further stressed that his administration has zero tolerance for corruption, and urged the new commissioner to ensure that elimination of corruption in the police force remains as one of his top priorities.

He further reassured Commissioner Barbe of his full support and reiterated the government’s commitment to cultivating a police force that the whole country will be proud of.

He warned the officers that if they are involved in any illegal activities to not blame the Commissioner when he takes action against them.

Talking to the press after the swearing-in ceremony, the new Commissioner of Police reaffirmed that his plan to transform the policing approach is already in implementation stage and will bring about a new dynamism to the police force. “We need to re-instil discipline across the board in the police force. This can be attained through the training of our police officers either locally or overseas as well as through refresher courses for those who have already gone through certain stages in the profession. Another important factor is empowerment of our officers and preparations to take over leadership roles. This will be required to follow through with a strong succession plan,” said the commissioner.

Elaborating on the training aspect, Commissioner Barbe expressed that he plans to re-introduce the cadet programme which had been in place a few years ago. To recall, this programme was launched in 2008 and which mainly trained officers in management/law. Unfortunately due to the pandemic, the personnel could not travel for some courses but some could do the courses online.

“People are also asking about recruits course. For recruit course we need to have part of it residential but the current facility at Pointe Larue does not allow us to do this. We are in discussion with the Seychelles Defence Forces to use their facility for the training. It is not an army training,” stressed Mr Barbe.

As mentioned by President Ramkalawan, Commissioner Barbe noted that the Seychelles Police Force will also benefit from different countries and organisations in terms of training.

Do we expect any transfers? Commissioner Barbe explained that “the transfers will be done in a strategic manner that will take into account the needs of the areas they are being transferred to. This process has already started and we have to keep in mind that we also have Praslin and La Digue that we have to also take into account and nothing will be done maliciously. The changes will happen across the board”.

Professional journey of the new Commissioner of Police

Mr Barbe joined the police force in 1997 and rose through the ranks, up to deputy Commissioner of Police responsible for policing and personnel development. He was appointed acting Commissioner of Police on March 15, 2021. He holds a Master of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Portsmouth, and a Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Sussex, in the United Kingdom.

He is an experienced negotiator having successfully been involved with the release of Seychellois hostages held by Somali pirates in 2009. Mr Barbe has attended various enhancement programmes such as in Anti-money laundering, combating the Financing of Terrorism and Interception of communication.

Also present at the swearing-in ceremony was First Lady Linda Ramkalawan; Vice-President Ahmed Afif; the Speaker of the National Assembly Roger Mancienne; the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Anthony Fernando; the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Rony Govinden; ministers, the Chief of Defence Forces, Colonel Michael Rosette; the leader of government business in the National Assembly, Bernard Georges; deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Gervais Henrie; member of the National Assembly for Anse Aux Pins, Clifford Andre; family members of Mr Barbe and other distinguished guests.

Vidya Gappy