The Civil Court has dismissed a request for an injunction by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to stop promotions awarded to senior police officers during the final days of the previous administration.
The ACC initiated legal proceedings after the MPS disregarded its directive to cease the promotion process. Despite the ACC’s directive, the MPS proceeded with the promotions of several senior officers.
In its legal submission, the ACC implored the Civil Court to issue an injunction to mandate the MPS to comply with the ACC’s directive to halt the promotions. The ACC also requested the court to suspend the promotion process pending the completion of its investigation.
The MPS awarded promotions to several senior officers during the transitional period. This occurred despite a plea from the then-President-elect Mohamed Muizzu to suspend any promotions within government staff, a plea that the state declined to heed.
In response to the ACC’s directive and subsequent legal action, the MPS maintained that the promotion process, initiated and announced in April, was in accordance with due process. The ACC resorted to legal action with the Civil Court after the Ibrahim Mohamed Solih administration proceeded with the promotions of senior police officers in defiance of the request by then-President-elect Muizzu.
The Civil Court, in its ruling, stated that the injunction could not be granted due to technical deficiencies and a lack of legal basis in the request filed by the ACC. The MPS’s non-compliance with the ACC’s directive does not impede the agency from fulfilling its constitutional duties and proceeding with its investigations, the court said.
The Anti-Corruption Commission Act mandates the ACC to investigate corruption acts and forward them for prosecution, and the agency’s case did not meet the criteria for the court to issue an injunction, the ruling said.
While the Civil Court has delivered its verdict on the ACC’s case, the MPS has initiated the process to appoint a new police commissioner. Two police officers, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ismail Naveen and Assistant Commissioner of Police Ali Shujau, have applied for the position before the application deadline.
During the final days of the previous administration, six police officers were promoted to the role of Assistant Commissioner of Police, according to local media reports. At the time, there were five police officers in the post of Assistant Commissioner of Police. Eight police officers were also promoted to the position of Chief Superintendent of Police during the last few days of the Solih administration.
