Africa-Press – Mauritius. In reply to the PNQ put by the leader of the Opposition last Wednesday, about the recent cases of police brutality involving a particular unit of the CID and others, the Prime Minister has dismissed the proposal of Hon Xavier Duval for the setting up of a Commission of Inquiry, which he said ‘would not give the desired results’ given that the evidence provided before one such Commission cannot be used for the purpose of prosecution.
The Police would have to start investigation afresh, call witnesses, gather evidence and submit the file to the DPP for advice. He also stated that the independent Police Complaints Commission is already carrying out an investigation and once it is completed, the IPCC will refer the matter to the appropriate body.
There had earlier been calls by various parties for the DPP to initiate a judicial inquiry into this matter, but it’s for the latter to exercise his constitutional prerogatives and decide accordingly.
Opinions will differ about the effectiveness or otherwise of a commission of inquiry, but one alternative course of action that could be seriously considered in the present circumstances would be to go for a Presidential Commission on the lines of the Mackay Commission, as suggested by a group of lawyers.
It would go beyond the investigation of cases of police brutality to look into the effectiveness of the police in fighting crime, the input of technological means for that purpose, the training of officers for policing duties as well as in ethics, community policing, etc
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