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‘Every day felt like prison’: the testimonies breaking from Twaha Academy

“Every day felt like living in prison.” That’s how a former student, now 18, describes his time at Twaha Academy’s boarding school in Bel-Air, Rivière-Sèche. Several students have since come forward to police with accounts of assault and maltreatment at the institution.

Mufti Azhar Peerboccus, the school’s former director, was arrested Saturday evening at Plaisance airport as he stepped off a flight from South Africa. Police filed three provisional charges of child ill-treatment against him. Police objected to bail. He remains in custody. He denies all allegations.

A 13-year-old’s mother also speaks out: her son told her he was beaten with a bamboo stick during prayers. “He told me: mama, they beat me with bamboo, just because I was praying,” she recounted. Two other suspects, Percy Duval and Chitraj Purmanund, are also behind bars this week in separate child abuse cases, all three denied bail by courts across the island.

Three unrelated cases of alleged child abuse surfacing in the same week. At some point this starts a conversation about institutional oversight.

Government prepares water rationing plan as drought enters critical phase

Energy Minister Patrick Assirvaden visited Mare aux Vacoas on Monday and came back with a stark message: “a drought of rarely observed magnitude in over a century.” Without significant rain, reservoir levels are projected to drop to 22-23% capacity by mid-June, the point at which sediment accumulation makes pumping impossible.

The Central Water Authority (CWA) is writing up a consumption restriction plan and will present it to the Council of Ministers within days. A longer-term Marshall Plan for water infrastructure is also being drafted. The minister is asking households, businesses, and farmers to cut water use now.

Mid-June is eight weeks away. Eight weeks isn’t long.

Chagos: Rs 1.3 million in flights, £408,000 in legal fees, and still no deal

Rs 26 million. That’s roughly what Mauritius has spent on Chagos negotiations so far, PM Navin Ramgoolam confirmed at Parliament on Tuesday. The breakdown: Rs 1,334,461 in local airfare, Rs 631,285 for the international legal team’s travel, and GBP 408,028 in fees to London firm Withers LLP, hired in November 2024.

The Attorney General’s office participated at no extra cost. No implementation timeline exists. The UK hasn’t ratified the agreement. A British delegation arrives in Port Louis on Wednesday for continued talks.

FCC: 26 arrests, Rs 160 million frozen, and a second flour smuggler caught

In 3.5 months, the Financial Crimes Commission (FCC) made 26 arrests, froze Rs 160 million, conducted 70 searches, and referred 108 cases to the courts. One ongoing case: the diversion of subsidised flour to the Comoros. A second suspect was arrested this week, joining Abdoulhakim Moindze, the first person charged in scheme.

MMM’s expelled 14 plan a legal challenge after removal without notice

The 14 councillors expelled from the Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM) at last Saturday’s central committee meeting say they received no warning, no chance to respond, and claim the party’s own procedures weren’t followed. They met with Paul Bérenger, Joanna Bérenger, and lawyer Chetan Baboolall to review their legal options. A public strategy will follow in the coming days.

The 14 intends to fight this in court. Whether the courts agree the MMM broke its own rules is another question.

🗞️ SHORTS

Mpox suspect in Mauritius – A man in his forties tested positive for mpox after returning from abroad. Authorities say the case is isolated.

Second satellite this year – Mauritius may launch its second satellite before end of 2026, the Higher Education Minister announced at National Research Week.

Safe City to start fining drivers – A new legal framework will allow Safe City cameras to fine traffic offenders directly, not just record them.

Street harassment set to be a crime – The Law Reform Commission has proposed adding street harassment to the penal code as a new criminal offence.

Cost of living protests at Parliament – Activists protested outside Parliament Tuesday, calling the Rs 635-a-month wage compensation “not enough.”

Rs 14 billion in bad loans was written off at the State Bank of Mauritius (SBM) between 2014 and 2024, PM Ramgoolam revealed at Parliament. Ten times the Rs 1 billion written off in the decade before. Three foreign groups account for Rs 9 billion: NMC Healthcare, Pabari Group, and Renish Petrochem. Ramgoolam cited “grave failures in banking principles.”

77 years is how far back Gaza’s development has been set by the war, per a new joint assessment by the EU, UN, and World Bank. Rebuilding will cost $71.4 billion, with $26.3 billion needed in the first 18 months. More than half of Gaza’s hospitals are non-functional, and the economy has contracted by 84%.

13 years in prison for Ruksanah Bee Ahmad, sentenced by a Mauritius court Tuesday for forcing a minor into prostitution. Among the longest sentences handed down for a trafficking offence on the island.

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Pan-African activist Kemi Seba faces extradition from South Africa to Benin

Kemi Seba, the pan-African activist known for his vocal opposition to France’s influence on the continent and his support for Russian involvement in Africa, is in a Pretoria prison after being arrested in South Africa for immigration violations. Benin’s prosecutors are preparing an extradition request, accusing him of inciting rebellion for publicly backing a failed coup attempt in December.

His legal team says no asylum request was filed, despite earlier reports suggesting otherwise. A bail hearing has been set for April 29. The case has drawn attention across francophone Africa, where Seba has millions of followers who see France’s continued presence on the continent as a form of occupation.

If Benin gets him, it becomes a very different kind of political trial.

A senior RSF commander crosses to Sudan’s national army

Major General al-Nour Adam, known as “Qubba,” has defected from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan’s paramilitary group, to join the national army. Army chief General Abdel-Fattah Burhan personally welcomed him in Northern Province and said the “doors are open” for others willing to switch sides. Video evidence shows soldiers accompanying Adam when he changed allegiances.

Sudan’s civil war is now in its fourth year. Aid organisations call it the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Chad sends 1,500 troops to Haiti to help tackle gang violence

Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby announced his country will contribute 1,500 soldiers to the UN-backed multinational security force in Haiti. Gangs control large areas of Port-au-Prince and have paralysed the Haitian government’s ability to function. Chad’s deployment adds significant weight to a mission that has struggled to gain traction.

Trump extends Iran ceasefire but leaves Hormuz blockade in place

The US ceasefire against Iran, due to expire Wednesday, has been extended. But the naval blockade of Iranian ports stays in place. President Trump says he’s giving Tehran more time to “come up with a unified proposal” before the military resumes. He cited divisions inside Iranian leadership as the reason there’s been no unified response from Tehran so far.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the continued blockade “an act of war” that violates the truce. Talks planned for Islamabad on Wednesday remain uncertain since Iran hasn’t confirmed participation. The US demands a full shutdown of Iran’s nuclear program, limits on missile production, and an end to support for Hezbollah and Hamas. Tehran is refusing.

Oil at $98.40 a barrel. Markets are watching every word.

Japan loosens its arms export rules for the first time since WW2

Japan approved new rules allowing it to sell weapons to more than a dozen countries, a significant break from the strict pacifist stance written into its laws after 1945. The move reflects Tokyo’s deepening security anxiety over China’s military build-up and North Korea’s missile programme, and comes as Japan raises its defence budget sharply.

What were two CIA agents doing on a Mexican drug raid?

Two US nationals, reportedly CIA officers, were killed when their vehicle crashed in the state of Chihuahua during a Mexican-led operation to destroy a drug laboratory. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum ordered full investigation after it emerged the Americans had been present in the law enforcement convoy. Foreign agents operating in Mexico require federal authorisation, she said, and joint ground operations are not permitted.

US Ambassador Ronald Johnson called them “embassy personnel,” without explaining their role. The question isn’t the crash. It’s what they were doing there.

The Onion wants to turn Infowars into a parody site

Alex Jones’s Infowars, the US conspiracy website best known for years of false claims about mass shootings and a resulting damages bill running into the billions, is heading toward liquidation. The Onion, America’s most celebrated satire publication, has proposed licensing the Infowars brand and keeping it running as an explicit parody of itself.

The pitch has a certain logic to it, critics have long argued that Infowars was already indistinguishable from satire. The Onion just wants to make it official.