A state watchdog in Mauritius has taken the state to court to secure the release of a prisoner who has served his time but remains incarcerated. Jean-Christophe Édouard, a former schoolteacher from Rodrigues, is serving two concurrent prison terms for indecent assault, one of three years and one of six. According to the law, time spent on remand before trial should be deducted from the final sentence. However, Édouard's Intermediate Court sentence did not mention this deduction, and the appeal ruling did not address it.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sued the State to get Édouard released, marking an unusual case where a state body is taking the state to court. The NHRC's action was prompted by a letter from Édouard, who pointed out that he had already served his time. The commission is seeking to have Édouard released, with the case now before the Supreme Court. The judges will determine whether the time Édouard spent on remand should be taken into account.
In a separate development, the Mauritian government has revived an abandoned tea land to increase tea output by 50% by 2029. The Tea Replantation Scheme, approved under this year's Budget, will pay half of a planter's replanting costs, up to Rs 25,000 per arpent. The goal is to revive 46.45 arpents of tea across several regions, with 50 small planters having walked away from the land previously.
The Small Farmers Welfare Fund will run the Tea Replantation Scheme, starting with the 50 planters who quit and expanding to a further 175 arpents over the next two financial years. To collect the grant, planters must work under three separate agencies, which may involve significant paperwork. The scheme aims to increase national tea output by 50% by 2029.
Visiting surgeons have successfully cleared cancer cases that previously required patients to travel abroad. Two visiting specialists, Professor Edward Leen and Dr. Pushpinder Gulia, conducted 40 consultations and 15 operations at the National Cancer Hospital in Solferino. The cases they handled were complex and not previously possible in Mauritius.
Historian Jocelyn Chan Low has expressed concerns about the Alliance du Changement government's approach to governance, two years after it swept all 60 island seats. Chan Low says the government is ruling as if it has a blank mandate, relying on technocrats to drive key policies while keeping unions, civil society, and even its own MPs at arm's length.
Mauritius is also taking steps to address the growing issue of diabetes, with around 500 amputations per year linked to the disease. The health ministry is rewriting its guidelines to flag cases sooner, while APSA International warns that about one adult in five on the island now lives with diabetes. The country aims to catch diabetes earlier and prevent avoidable amputations.
Key points
- The National Human Rights Commission has sued the State to secure the release of a prisoner who has served his time.
- Mauritius aims to increase tea output by 50% by 2029 through a new replantation scheme.
- The country is taking steps to address the growing issue of diabetes and prevent avoidable amputations.
