ANDRE KILINDO, the Ex-Commissioner of Police and Security Advisor to President James Michel is yet to be prosecuted for employing illegal Chinese workers on his boat Ste. Andre. The catch of sea cucumber found on the boat is yet to be seized and sold off as perishables as is normally the case in such cases. This has given rise to justifiable accusation against SFA and its Chairman, Mr. Randolph Payet, of selective prosecution.
Mr. Payet is known to have been over zealous in the past when such cases come up, rushing to the Courts to seek seizure of the catch as well as the boat. He has been known to whip up a media frenzy by regularly feeding the press with regular updates of the cases keeping them in the limelight for as long as possible. He is also known to give lengthy interviews where he would gloat on television and give the overall impression that he is doing a jolly good job.
However, in this particular case Mr. Payet has been uncharacteristically subdued. This is understandable as the suspect in this particular case is no ordinary mortal. Mr. Kilindo is known to have very close link to the ruling party and by the look of things he seems to even enjoy immunity from prosecution in the same way as a diplomat would. His status has been so elevated that for all intents and purposes he seems to be simply above the law. This is a privilege that not even the President of the Republic enjoys! In the meantime, the mysterious Mr. Woo who masterminded the whole operation on behalf of Mr. Kilindo has simply disappeared into thin air and cannot be found. The Immigration has also been forced to deport the culprits after Le Nouveau Seychelles Weekly gave the issue prominence in its front page a couple of weeks ago. This, despite retrospective applications being made on their behalf to be issued with work permits rather belatedly.
The case has more than legal ramification for the country as a whole as it would be a test of the resolve of President Michel's administration to do away completely with favouritism and discrimination; ills which were rampant during the one party state. If Mr. kilindo is not prosecuted, as he is expected not to be, it will prove that the current administration has no credibility but is prone to paying lip service to the virtues of democratic ideals only. However, when it comes to action and one of its own, they are prepared to close ranks to protect the wrongdoer.
It appears as if President Michel's now famous dictum “Judge me by my action” may yet come back to haunt him! For the love of Kilindo.