Africa’s only woman head of state under pressure to resign over shopping scandal
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim was appointed to the largely ceremonial post in 2015, as the island nation’s first female president, but was accused of using a credit card issued by an international non-governmental organisation to buy clothes and jewellery
The president of Mauritius is being forced out of office over allegations that she used a charity’s credit card to make excessive purchases for herself.
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is currently the only female head of state among 55 nations that comprise the African Union.
Mauritius, an island nation off the continent’s east coast, is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary of independence Monday.
A domestic Mauritian newspaper published the allegations last week against the president, but Gurib-Fakim continues to maintain her innocence.
“I do not owe anything to anybody. Why is this issue coming up now almost a year later on the eve of our independence day celebrations,” she said in a speech the same day reports first appeared in the local media.
“It is being reported that I am resigning. I am still in post,” she tweeted Friday.