Africa-Press – Seychelles. Of the two persons before the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission’s (TRNUC) 245th hearing yesterday Raymond De Speville was the only complainant in public session.
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Mr De Speville was back before the commission to complete the second part of his complaint regarding his activities with the opposition which led to him being victimised by the state. He presented the first part of his complaint on Friday November 12, 2021, where he recounted how he was forced to resign from BODCO, the company he had helped to grow, in order to prevent it from going down.
In setting out his second complaint yesterday, Mr De Speville stated that as an affiliated member of the Parti Seselwa, which at the time in 1991 was still operating underground, he, along with other party members, wearing their party t- shirt, would go around to manifest against the government. They would do that by talking to people to get them to understand the problems in the country.
He said on October 6, 1991 after he and some other Parti Seselwa members had attended a fancy fair at Baie Lazare in their party t-shirt to conduct their manifestation, the same night, three men armed with steel bars, came to his house at Bel Ombre. He noted that previously that day at the fancy fair, he and other Parti Seselwa activists were given a hostile welcome by some security guys present to which they decided to move on rather than staying at the event.
Mr De Speville said that upon returning to his house at Bel Ombre that night, after having a dinner out with some friends, he noticed that his garage light was off. He added that at first he presumed that the bulb had fused but looking further he noticed that a hole had been cut in the side of the galvanized iron fence. He said that walking from the garage to his house, he heard someone calling out his name. He further said that upon walking in the direction from where the sound had come, he came across three masked men carrying steel bars. He stated that, feeling defenceless, he turned and ran away into the garden and into the darkness, as they chased him.
Mr De Speville said that as he knew his surroundings, he managed to fend them off in the short chase and he went to hide behind the swimming pool where he got to have a full view of his house. He added that he even shouted at them in the darkness to come and get him and that he also was ready for them. He said he was lucky that they were cowards as they didn’t come for him. He stated that as he had been warned by various people, including by members of the diplomatic corps, on the possible threat on his life, as a measure of security he had placed several machetes at different locations on his property and where he was behind the swimming pool there was one at hand should they have come to attack him.
“Fortunately they didn’t take my offer to come and get me and they ran away,” Mr De Speville said, noting that he had been a soldier before in the Rhodesian Army and he was very good at hand combat.
He said that as the three men ran away to their parked car, they smashed his car windows with the steel bars.
He stated that after they had left, he went to his house, grabbed the phone and called his neighbours, who quickly came to his assistance.
He added that some even spent the night with him.
He further said that upon searching his house, he noticed that it had been broken into and some items, including some with sentimental value, were missing.
He said that the burglary was a set-up to make people believe that it was robbers who had hurt or killed him (in the event it had happened) and not people recruited by the state.
Mr De Speville said that the following morning he phoned a Dobin Samson at State House to report on the incident and he had a vitriolic conversation with him but he could not recall the exact words he used or the words Mr Samson responded with.
He said he also reported the incident to the police but there was no follow-up.
He said that after the incident, the young Parti Seselwa activists of Bel Ombre would take turns to stay with him at night and to travel with him during the day for protection.
Mr De Speville said he would like to know who were the three persons who came to attack him that night and under whose orders and why.
He also wanted to get back his stolen items especially those with sentimental value.
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