Mauritian Deputy Premier Soodhun Steps Down, Prime Minister Says

PORT LOUIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mauritian Vice Prime Minister Showkutally Soodhun has stepped down and police are still investigating inappropriate comments that he allegedly made, the Indian Ocean island nation’s leader said.

“I met with Minister Soodhun this afternoon,” Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth told reporters in the capital, Port Louis, on Friday. “We reviewed the situation. We agreed that in the general interest he steps down as DPM and Minister of Housing and Lands.”

Two reporters gave the prime minister recordings on Tuesday regarding comments made by the minister at a meeting, Jugnauth said, declining to comment further until the tape is authenticated. He said he’s yet to make a decision on a replacement.

Separately, Mauritius’s state prosecutor has also begun criminal proceedings against Soodhun for outrage against a public official, after he allegedly threatened to kill the leader of the opposition. He maintains he’s innocent.

Soodhun is the second member of Jugnauth’s administration to face legal scrutiny this year. In September, Attorney General Ravi Yerrigadoo stepped down to allow an investigation into allegations of money laundering. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court granted permission to the state prosecutor to challenge Jugnauth’s acquittal in a corruption case last year.

Source: Bloomberg Business News