Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission – Hearing number 177 |15 July 2021

More testimonies on army violence in one party state era

The inefficiency of the regular police force against the authority of the army and the Police Mobile Unit has been a common subject during many hearings of the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission and yesterday’s session was no exception as ex-assistant commissioner in the customs division, Selwyn Knowles shared his ordeal.

Mr Knowles, as a complainant, was the first person to appear in open session yesterday, laying down his grievance in case 0175 filed by him, based on an assault suffered at the hands of the army in 1985.

It was during the festive season of 1985 that Mr Knowles and a girlfriend were clubbing at Beau Vallon – Takamaka Two – when he decided to go out for some fresh air.

Suddenly, a white minibus (S 291) drove past him, and at that very moment he was hit in the face by someone inside the vehicle.

Thinking that it was an ordinary van picking up hotel staff, Mr Knowles, bleeding from the face, got into his car and decided to follow the minibus and investigate who hit him.

Upon reaching Mare Anglaise, he overtook the vehicle and blocked its way.

Approaching the vehicle from the driver’s side, he was surprised to see André Ciseau – a decorated army officer – at the wheel.

When asked why he was hit, Mr Ciseau answered by asking him if he was the police to have followed their vehicle.

Realising the situation, Mr Knowles decided to back off and go back to his car when he heard the door of the minivan open about six soldiers got out.

He explained that they unleashed a heavy beating onto him, but was nearly saved by the light of a passing vehicle.

Seizing the opportunity to get back in his car, Mr Knowles said he was unlucky since the girlfriend had locked the car from fear and panic of what was happening.

He said the soldiers dragged him back and the beating resumed, until they felt that it was enough for the night.

Other than Mr Ciseau who did not directly took part in the beating, the victim mentioned a few names of soldiers he recognised, including Marcel Julie of La Gogue, and Paul Henrie of Quincy Village.

Mr Knowles said following the beating, he decided to file a complaint at the Central Police Station where he saw a pick-up truck full of assaulted people being thrown into the police station.

Another assault he talked about was during a gathering at the ex-Seychelles College Hall where he was beaten by Police Mobile Unit (PMU) officers, identifying James Matombé as one of the aggressors.

He said following the initial commotion, he left the scene to go and park his car further up, and while walking back, he was arrested again by the officers, again identifying officer Matombé, along with fellow officer Antoine Victorin, with the latter slapping him in the face.

Mr Knowles said he was beaten and dumped into a Land Rover, before being detained at the Mont Fleuri police station and released the next day without any charge.

Based on his injuries, Mr Knowles said he was forced to wear shirts at home, just to prevent his mother from seeing the wound.

Regarding his assault, Mr Knowles said he wrote a letter to the then Minister of Defence, the late Ogilvy Berlouis asking for explanations, but he never received any answer.

He added that he even received confirmation from the licensing authority regarding the owner of the minivan which was the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF).

During his days at customs, Mr Knowles said he worked alongside Mr Ciseau who was the chief executive of the Seychelles Port Authority (SPA) and that he never let the incident affect his professional duties.

He however noted that on one instance, someone mentioned to him that Mr Ciseau was telling them how he and his group beat Mr Knowles before.

This Mr Knowles described as very unprofessional and sad, especially on the part of a senior civil servant.

A remark which was agreed upon by the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission (TRNUC) chairperson Gabrielle Louise McIntyre who also stated that an apology would have been more appropriate than a boast.

Case 0367 – David Choppy

The second person to appear in open session yesterday was complainant David Choppy who was also speaking on behalf of his mother Mary regarding harassment and persecution because they were against the National Youth Service (NYS).

A member of the Form Five (B) of the Seychelles College, along with the late Simon Denousse, Mr Choppy was among those who initiated the famous strike against the NYS on October 10, 1979.

Other than giving details of the strike, he also explained how his involvement in the event affected his family, especially his mother who was imprisoned for three months at the Union Vale prison, before deciding to go into exile after being released.

Mr Choppy also told the TRNUC that his mother was harassed by two ex-army officers, namely Norcy Chung-Loye and Philip Lucas, and that he only had the chance to see her during her arrest while she was at the Victoria Hospital, undergoing a minor surgery.

He also added that her mother was an activist of the Democratic Party and also a friend of the Mancham family.

Regarding his own harassment, Mr Choppy said it all started on one night while he was at the Reef Hotel, where he heard Mr Lucas saying that whoever looks for trouble will have their brain blown off, while Mr Chung-Loye kept following him around the Reef Hotel, threatening him verbally.

His first arrest was after completing his A-Levels, where he was spending the night at Chamery Chetty’s house at Port Launay with fellow friends.

Militiaman Paul Labaleine questioned them before they were arrested by Tanzanian and local soldiers.

They spent the night in custody before being released without any charge the next morning.

Mr Choppy added that they suspected that among their peers, there was someone who was providing information to the authority, regarding all their movement.

In April 1980, Mr Choppy joined Cable & Wireless as trainee technician where he had the chance to pursue overseas training.

On October 19, 1982, Mr Choppy was heading to the cinema when Simon Denousse passed by and honked his car horn at him.

“That was the last time I ever saw Simon,” said Mr Choppy.

The next day on his to work, Mr Choppy saw the burnt car of Mr Denousse at the back of a truck next to Katiolo discotheque.

Among other mistreatments than Mr Choppy talked about was regarding an excessive R5,000 overcharge on taxes for a music (Hi-Fi) set which he bought while studying in the UK.

Another incident happened at the Katiolo discotheque where he was aggressed by Norbert Nancy and a certain Mr Belle who were accompanying Philip Lucas, Norcy Chung-Loye and Raymond Bonté on that night.

He also added that on one particular night, someone tried to break into his house, but luckily there was light in the vicinity and he managed to identify the person.

On another occasion, while sitting on the balcony of his house, Jemmy Marengo passed by and asked him to come down and talk. Knowing them too well, Mr Choppy refused.

Mr Choppy then decided to go into exile in the UK, before coming back in 1989 and was offered his old job back at Cable & Wireless. But due to security clearance issue, he was not allowed to work.

He also succeeded at various job interviews locally, but still could not work due to the above-mentioned reason.

Case 0412 – Ralph and Monica Préa

Couple Ralph and Monica Préa of case 0412 also appeared before the TRNUC at yesterday’s hearing as complainants regarding victimisation for expressing their political views.

It all started with Monica who worked at the social services and was forced to change work location from Praslin to La Digue and upon refusal, she was made redundant.

The couple opened a shop and were soon targeted by the price control system, with most of their commodities failing to get import permit.

On one particular occasion, one of their containers was stuck at the port for one and half years, and when finally released, most of the commodities were spoilt.

Mr Préa gave evidence of malicious practice by price control officers who entered his shop on Praslin.

He said a friend of his filmed the whole scenario which forced the officers to leave the premises.

A story then appeared in The People newspaper stating that the shop owners obstructed price control officers.

Mrs Préa was then summoned to court, but when appeared, she was told that it was a human error.

The couple said this was among many methods to break them down and to humiliate them.

Their son was also refused approval to open a video rental shop, a decision which plunged him in debts.

Their home was also raided by Agnes Mondon and team on one occasion while the couple were in Dubai, but unfortunately no foreign exchange was found, despite their son mysteriously losing a couple of hundred rupees during the search.

Mr Préa said that during one meeting with ex-President James Michel, who was still the Vice-President at the time, his wife was told that their main problem was Mitcy Larue, since she was the one responsible to deal with, or victimise those who were against the system on Praslin.

Like his friends, the late Simon Denousse and David Choppy who spoke before the TRNUC yesterday, Mr Préa was among those who initiated the famous strike against the NYS on October 10, 1979.

He gave his own account of the event.

As it was said before, Mr Préa confirmed they did not receive any advice, or help from any adult regarding the strike, but it was solely the initiative of the students themselves.

Roland Duval