News24 | Mauritius rocked by worst riots since 1999

The capital of Mauritius, Port Louis. On Monday, protesters blocked roads across the country in riots sparked by water shortages and high living costs.

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Mauritius, an Indian Ocean island nation best known for its white-sand beach resorts, has been rocked by its worst riots since 1999.

Demonstrations that erupted last week over water shortages and living costs escalated after the police shot and injured a 27-year-old woman on 9 October.

The 1999 protests came amid demands for cannabis to be decriminalised.

Schools have been shut, and the country’s main business lobby group urged companies to allow staff to work from home.

“This time again, as in 1999, the police are the main target,” Jocelyn Chan Low, a historian and political analyst, said in an interview. “The scale of the violence has multiplied, with police stations and vehicles set ablaze.”

While African countries ranging from Morocco and Kenya to Madagascar have been hit by riots over the high cost of living, power shortages, and unemployment in the past two years, unrest in Mauritius is unusual.

The archipelago, which relies on tourism and financial services to fund its economy, is Africa’s second-richest nation per capita after the Seychelles. It has held peaceful elections since its independence from the UK in 1968.

Still, the war in the Middle East has driven up fuel prices and a crippling drought has emptied reservoirs, resulting in water-use restrictions in some areas.

Street protests began on 7 October in the central region of the main island, with roads blocked with broken furniture and mattresses. The woman’s shooting further fuelled anger, with Indian surgeons being flown in to treat her operating on Monday to remove a bullet.

“The root cause for the unrest is almost similar” to the riots three decades ago, said Chan Low. “In February 1999, a popular singer died in police custody, triggering riots.”

Back then, seggae musician Joseph Reginald Topize, known by the stage name Kaya, was found dead after being detained by police. His death sparked three days of demonstrations. Churches and shops were burned and looted, and several protesters killed, according to the US State Department.

Seggae music is a blend of reggae and the local sega genre.

On 12 October, protesters burnt a police station in Rose Hill, a town south of the capital Port Louis, set tyres alight, and blocked roads across the country.

Calm has now been restored, according to the authorities, and banks and the local stock exchange are open.

“The situation is under control,” the Mauritius Police Force said in a statement on Tuesday morning. “All roads are passable.”

Unless the unrest persists, tourism and investor confidence are unlikely to be affected, Zoë McCathie, country risk analyst at Cape Town-based Signal Risk, said. “Mauritius is still seen to have a business-friendly environment.”

Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam said the shooting was being investigated and urged calm. The policeman who fired the shot that injured the woman, Elodie Thomas, has been arrested and charged.

“I have insisted that the investigation proceed as quickly as possible to establish the exact circumstances of this tragedy and determine where responsibility lies,” he said on 11 October.

“In these painful moments, anger is understandable. However, it must not lead to further tragedies.”

Ramgoolam has called an emergency Cabinet meeting for Tuesday afternoon local time to discuss the situation.