President Michel makes controversial appointments

This week we saw the appointment of Mr. Francis McGregor as the President of the Court of Appeal and Mr. Jeremie Bonnelame as the new Chairman of the Constitutional Appointments Authority (CAA). This has come about following the resignation of France Bonte. Bonte survived against all the odds under former President Rene but President Michel, it seems , did not find it necessary to afford France Bonte the same kind of protection he enjoyed under the previous administration. Bonte, it is said has now lost all the clout - political or otherwise, that went with the office of Chairman of the CAA and his position on the Central Committee of the Party.

President Michel like his predecessor is showing a serious lack of knowledge and understanding of a functioning democracy. These appointments according to the Seychelles Nation, Monday 2nd of July, takes effect immediately and that it was on the recommendations of the Constitutional Appointments Authority. This cannot be further from the truth. In fact the two members, Mr. Gabriel Hoareau and Mrs Marlene Lionnet, could not be further apart on their position regarding the matter. They could not reach a consensus on the appointments.  President Michel lobbied the two members indirectly to have his choice of candidates appointed.

Archbishop French Chang-Him was nominated by one of the two members for the post of Chairman of the CAA. Mr. Albert Payet was another whose name came up during discussions. Archbishop Chang-Him was regarded as the most popular choice of the ordinary men and women in the country. However, in the eyes of the power that be, both Chang-Him and Payet lack political allegiance to the most powerful in our country. This move has, for the foreseeable future at least, thrown out the notion of an independent judiciary free of political interference.

Michel, like Rene before him, is guilty of manipulating the system in establishing total control over all three pillars of our democracy. The concept of separation of powers between the Executive (President and his Cabinet), the Legislature (Elected Representatives in the National Assembly) and the Judiciary (Chief Justice, Judges, Magistrates and the Courts) is now once again blown out of the window. It is a missed opportunity for Michel to demonstrate awareness and a willingness to make a difference in developing a true democratic system. 

However, McGregor and Bonnelame have had distinguishing careers in a variety of positions. McGregor is a London trained Barrister from the Middle Temple. He became the director of the Law Centre (a parastatal) during the one-party dictatorship; served as an acting judge of the Supreme Court for a short while and later became Speaker of the People’s Assembly. He was appointed the first Speaker of the new National Assembly of the Third (multiparty) Republic until the last National Assembly elections when he was not nominated by the SPPF. 

Mr. Jeremie Bonnelame was former Roman Catholic priest turned politician following the coup d’eta in 1977. He was appointed Principal Secretary of Education in the first one-party state government. Later he was nominated to the post of Secretary General of the Indian Ocean Commission by President Rene, where he served two terms. After the death of Mrs Daniel de St Jorre, Bonnelame was recalled to Seychelles to take over the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. It is widely believed that he became disillusioned with the lack of effective decision on economic reforms at the end of President Rene’s rule, which caused him many embarrassing moments in diplomacy abroad, especially when he had to prostitute the honour of the country to other nations in order to pay for our membership to various international organisations. He subsequently asked to be relieved of his ministerial post and was appointed UN ambassador.