[OPINION] Pravind Jugnauth: The Accuser of Today, but the Persecutor of Yesterday

Pravind Jugnauth seems to have a short memory. When he publicly denounced an alleged political manipulation of the police following the arrest of his brother-in-law Sanjiv Ramdenee, many saw it as a pathetic distortion of reality. If there is one leader who has made political vengeance a method of governance, it is him. The former Prime Minister's indignant reaction appears almost provocative for a country that has not forgotten the suffering he inflicted on his opponents.

One only needs to recall the intensity of the arrests of Navin Ramgoolam. For years, his main political adversary faced a barrage of charges, almost all of which were eventually dismissed. The objective was clear: to destroy the man to weaken the Labour Party. The judicial outcome mattered little; the political sentence was immediate. Hearing Pravind Jugnauth play the victim today feels indecent.

The brutal dismantling of the BAI group serves as another example of this retaliatory logic disguised as national action. This operation left thousands financially devastated, some still broken a decade later, and shook the Mauritian economy. The shadows have never dissipated, particularly regarding allegations of insider trading involving SAJ, Pravind Jugnauth, and Roshi Bhadain, who withdrew Rs 741,000, Rs 4.4 million, and Rs 6 million from Bramer Bank in January and February 2015, just before the banking license was revoked. This coincidence continues to strike a chord with public conscience, especially since Sir Anerood Jugnauth, former Prime Minister, ultimately had to admit that there was never a 'ponzi scheme,' as he initially claimed.

Pravind Jugnauth's term was also marked by a series of arrests targeting high-ranking officials and politicians. All pursued loudly, almost all exonerated in embarrassed silence. The impression left is that a state apparatus was systematically used to crush anything resembling credible opposition. The MSM seemed to have one goal: to destroy the Labour Party. However, they never succeeded – and they never will.

The same pattern repeated against opponents, activists, ordinary internet users, and even journalists. Bruneau Laurette, Akil and Avinash Bissessur, and Rachna Seenauth were arrested or harassed for criticizing the government. "Under warning" summons targeted several journalists, including prominent ones. Meanwhile, persistent allegations of "planting" by specialized units, notably the SST, have created lasting suspicion around police methods. The message was clear: any dissenting voice would either be intimidated or neutralized.

Freedom of expression has been deeply eroded. Self-censorship has taken root; the populace has learned to remain silent to avoid attracting the authorities' attention. And as Prime Minister Dr. Navin Ramgoolam revealed in Parliament, following the regime change, the existence of a vast espionage system benefiting the former power became impossible to ignore. This surveillance network has certainly been dismantled, but it has permanently marred the trust between citizens and institutions.

Additionally, the systematic use of planted questions in Parliament over nearly a decade, most targeting the same man: Navin Ramgoolam. Rather than a space for democratic debate, the National Assembly had been transformed into an arena aimed at taking down a political opponent.

In light of all this, the victimhood posture adopted today by Pravind Jugnauth borders on the absurd. The one who denounces alleged political vengeance is the same who, according to many observers and political actors, has practiced it consistently and determinedly. It's hard to find another modern leader in Mauritius who has used institutions so relentlessly against his opponents.

But the political history of the country has shown: a power that governs through fear ultimately collapses. One can weaken an adversary temporarily, one can try to erase a party, but one can never prevent an idea from resurfacing. And Mauritian democracy deserves a future based on justice, not revenge. The current Prime Minister, Dr. Navin Ramgoolam, knows this. And there are reasons to believe he will not make the same mistake as Pravind Jugnauth.