Gasim praises president for ‘non-interference’ in judiciary

Jumhooree Party (JDP) leader and businessman Gasim Ibrahim said on Monday that he believes President Mohamed Muizzu is governing sincerely because, unlike previous administrations, he does not interfere with the judiciary.

Speaking at a meeting held in ADh. Fenfushi, Gasim said President Muizzu has shown more sincerity than any other leader since 2008.

Gasim outlined four reasons for his statement:

Gasim said that in contrast, previous leaders had influenced judicial decisions.

“Others who ruled did that too. They locked up the Judicial Service Commission. How many judges of the Supreme Court were transferred,” he said.

He also defended the recent suspension of three Supreme Court judges and said the President should not be blamed for it.

“One of the Supreme Court judges resigned when he joined the government today. He will not dismiss the other two judges if they get involved in a crime,” he added.

Gasim said President Muizzu has governed without interference in the judiciary and reiterated that “no one has ruled more purely” since the introduction of multi-party democracy in 2008.

Despite Gasim’s remarks, three Supreme Court judges were suspended earlier this year, coinciding with a hearing on a constitutional amendment case involving the government’s super-majority in parliament.

The sequence of events shows that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against the three judges just hours before the scheduled hearing. The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) then convened an emergency meeting on the morning of 26 February and suspended the judges ahead of the hearing.

Earlier, parliament had passed a resolution seeking the removal of two Supreme Court judges, though the measure was not approved. President Muizzu had said that ruling party members were expected to vote in line with the party whip on the issue.