One side is claiming that it is only a ?political plot? while the other is seizing the opportunity to blacken the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM). ?There is a general feeling of indignation within the MMM,? said the secretary general, Steven Obeegadoo, when he heard that his colleague was about to be arrested. But former minister of Public infrastructure, Ajay Gunness, has been doing his best to avoid arrest by the police. Today, he should be settled about the stand of the Independent Commission against Corruption (Icac) after judge Domah asked this institution to support its case. Meanwhile, the commissioner of police and the Icac had no grounds for the arrest of MP Gunness.

Despite his denials, the Icac has concluded that he could be provisionally charged under articles 7 and 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (Poca) concerning the refurbishment of his office soon after he was appointed minister. The first article makes it illegal for any public official to use his position to obtain gratification while article 9 states that influencing a public official is illegal.

<I>The week has been full of events for the former minister. The DPP?s green light for his arrest rang an alarm bell for Ajay Gunness. As from then, he started a race against time.

The week has been full of developments and emotions for the former minister. After the Icac concluded that MP Gunness could be arrested under the Poca, it asked the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to give a ruling in the case. The DPP?s green light for his arrest rang an alarm bell for Ajay Gunness. As from then, he started a race against time to avoid being arrested.

As soon as his lawyers were informed of the DPP?s authorisation to arrest him, they resorted to the Supreme Court. After a ?very positive? meeting between his lawyers and the police, they asked for an injunction order from judge Domah through an affidavit. However, the latter refused to issue the injunction in the absence of the Icac and the CP.

While the lawyers of Ajay Gunness were confident that nothing could happen until the next day (Friday) ? when the Icac and the CP were supposed to go to Court concerning the injunction order ? MP Gunness was astonished to see the Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT) surrounding his house in a bid to arrest him. But his wife?s determination to prevent the police from getting into her house gave time to his lawyers to talk to judge Domah. The latter immediately ordered the police not to arrest Ajay Gunness until the injunction order had been discussed in court.

Since the very beginning of this case, ex-minister Gunness has always denied the allegations against him. The case started when the then opposition leader, Navin Ramgoolam, asked a Private Notice Question to Paul Bérenger in Parliament about renovation work in the minister?s office, which allegedly had started before the allocation of the contract. A witness is said to have told investigators that civil servants had been pressured to conduct this work. Specific instructions were allegedly given for the contract to be allowed to Archinter Services Ltd.

Dhaneshwar Soobrah, the general manager of the Development Works Corporation (DWC), is also involved in this case. The DWC had been contacted by the ministry of Public Infrastructure at the time to find sub-contractors for the renovation works. He has been provisionally charged with using his office for gratification. He is suspected to have taken advantage of his position to obtain a gratification that benefited Archinter Services Ltd. He has been arrested and released on bail of Rs 100,000 and a debt recognizance of Rs 800,000. Dhaneshwar Soobrah has denied all the allegations against him so far and does not intend to resign from his post, as this, he said, ?would prove his detractors right?.

The MMM has made it clear that it will support its MP. The party leader, Paul Bérenger, who was in Madagascar as an observer in the presidential election, is expected to cut short his trip because he considers that there is an ?extravagant politicisation of the Icac?. And Ajay Gunness has been playing it cool:?It is not easy to demoralise me. In targeting me, they are actually targeting the MMM,? he commented. But he insisted: ?We trust in justice and the Supreme Court.?