There have been unprecedented events in Mauritius in the past couple of months. Many of them are still unfolding and/or under investigation. Now is not the time to rush to judgment about any single individual. Irrespective of personal outcomes, however, there are already important lessons to be drawn. Many of them are self-evident, and concern political leaders in general. One lesson is about the need for political leaders to show respect for others if they wish to be shown respect in turn. Another is about the risk of taking for granted an increasingly sophisticated electorate, which acts with more discernment than it may have done in the past. A third lesson is about the need for political leaders to develop a vision of their political career, which is more than just about personal ambitions and hopes of self-aggrandizement. It is an honor and a privilege to be called upon to serve, and such a shame to let it go to waste.

Beyond the obvious lessons directed at political leaders themselves, there are other equally important lessons for multiple groups in society who may not be entirely blameless or strangers to the growing state of disillusionment with politics. These groups include not just legislators themselves but, more importantly, the entourage of close and faithful followers, the institutions and the electorate. These groups are all accountable and the role that they have played in the process deserves scrutiny.

Legislators. Parliament may be supreme but individual legislators are not. Notwithstanding recent suggestions to the contrary, no one is above the law. Many of us will recall that the first rule of legislative drafting is that legislators and legislative draftsmen alike cannot champion laws which they would subsequently denounce or repudiate, were they or their loved ones to find themselves under changed circumstances at the receiving end of the same laws. In a country where regime change is the exception rather than the rule and political leaders are rarely held accountable for abuse of office, the relevance of this first rule of legislative drafting has oftentimes been overlooked. Legislators who flout the very laws that they pass while the authorities look the other way are part of the problem. So are those who persist against the odds to claim that their country is scandal-free.

Entourage. The entourage of the close and the faithful has a key role to play in aiding and abetting wrongdoing on the part of elected officials. Many would claim after the fact that they had no knowledge of, or involvement with, any of the acts of wrongdoing. All would seek to extricate themselves from episodes of misconduct, and most - but not all – would distance themselves after the fact from their fallen heroes. Whenever a regime has veered off track, there are signs which are unmistakable. One unmistakable sign is the regularity of irregularities in the allocation of contracts. Another is the officially sanctioned boycott of a national newspaper. Yet another sure sign that something is amiss is the attempt by political leaders to rewrite the constitution and agree behind closed doors on a formula to share the spoils of victory even before victory can be declared. Long after the people have turned their backs on a failed regime, the entourage invariably clings to the hope that all is well in the best of worlds.  The ‘see no evil hear no evil’ philosophy of the entourage based on self-interest is an important pillar of a regime gone bad.

Institutions. The term ‘institutions’ refers to the patchwork of institutions and agencies whose role it is to specify the rights and obligations of individuals, assess their civic dues and liabilities, facilitate commercial and business transactions, issue permits and licenses, and generally serve as society’s watchdogs. Together they are designed to foster and uphold a legal and regulatory framework conducive to good governance. Where elected leaders are allowed to flout the rules frequently and with impunity, there is a presumption that one or more institutions may not be pulling their weight. Institutions have an obligation to discharge their functions firmly but even-handedly, forcefully but without bias or discrimination, relentlessly but without fear or favor. In a resource-constrained environment, the effect of deliberately focusing limited resources on the ‘good guys’, hounding them for pennies and cents, persecuting them for years on end and harassing them on the basis of any fanciful interpretation of the law, is to allow the ‘bad guys’ to slip though the cracks with their millions on their backs.

The broken window policy of law enforcement is based on the principle that, if small crimes are taken care of, bigger crimes will take care of themselves. Many have claimed that the ‘broken window’ policy is itself broken. Institutions which adjust their sights, targets and decisions according to who commands the political majority are another important pillar of a faltering regime. To the extent that they have been part of the problem, they should also be held accountable.

Electorate. It has been said of the electorate that it has the government that it deserves. To the extent that an electorate is disillusioned by its government, it would do well to recall that, at least in a democratic regime, it is the electorate which ‘hires and fires’ governments. Where a failed regime is booted out of office, the electorate can rightfully take the credit; nor is it entirely blameless whenever a government falls short of expectations. There is no doubt that, with the advent of social media, the electorate has demonstrated a hitherto unsuspected level of maturity and sophistication, suggesting that henceforth its verdict should not be taken for granted.

Then there is the inevitable motley bunch of flatterers, admirers and well-wishers who have taken idol-worship to art form, treating political leaders as demi-gods, never missing an opportunity to sing their praises and showering them with expressions of their adulation. Beyond the prospect of gain, financial or otherwise, which may be extracted from such manifestations of love and affection for political leaders, the promise of stardom may also have been a factor in the decline of many political leaders who, for all their weaknesses and human frailties, could well have gone on to be good citizens, had they not fallen prey to hero-worship.  

Wealth accumulation and democracy. There is the remaining question whether the ‘third world’ propensity to use elected office to amass inordinate wealth is compatible with the democratic ideals which we espouse. Many African leaders are reported to have amassed huge fortunes, amounting in some cases to the rough equivalent of their countries’ foreign debt. Few, if any, have ever been made to account for their ill-gotten gains. Many of them have died in office with their fortunes intact. Others would secure immunity or safe passage as part of a power transfer deal. Others still would hold on to power by hook or by crook, if only to escape accountability. Among those who have chosen to soldier on in office, some have had to ‘fire’ their unduly inquisitive police chiefs or over-zealous prosecutors, while others have had to dismember an increasingly cumbersome opposition.

Africa may be a heartland of poverty but it hosts some of the richest people on earth. In terms of affiliation with Africa, Mauritius has been more than a little ambivalent, unwilling to follow the African model but unable to unshackle itself of the bad habits of its predatory leaders. The latter may have got it right, however: the inordinate accumulation of wealth does not sit well with the peaceful, democratic transfer of power.

‘Blip’ or no ‘blip’. The mere discovery of a secret cache of stashed away cash does not mean that laws have been broken or that any one is guilty of a crime. That is a matter for the courts to decide. The presumption of innocence applies to the rich and famous as it does to mere mortals. Whether or not there are crimes which have been committed, there are those who would rather dismiss the latest events as a mere ‘blip’ in an otherwise unblemished line of succession of party luminaries. Left to themselves, they would rather let the chips fall where they may, contain the fallout and move on with business as usual. Others would not discount the possibility that, far from being a ‘blip’, the secret trove is part of a systemic failure which, had it not been for an unexpected turn of events, would never have come to light. Proponents of the systemic failure theory would rather let the investigation run its course and use the results thereof as a platform for meaningful reforms.

The next chapters in this ongoing saga have yet to be scripted, and the jury may be out for quite a while.

* The writer is a barrister-at-law and former lead counsel in the World Bank Legal Department