Azor Adelaide

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Azor Adelaide
Personal details
Born(1922-02-15)15 February 1922
Beau-Bassin, Mauritius
Died25 November 1971(1971-11-25) (aged 49)
Curepipe, Mauritius[1]
Political partyMouvement Militant Mauricien
OccupationActivist

Azor Adelaide (15 February 1922 – 25 November 1971) was a Mauritian Creole political activist who was assassinated by gunshot along Chasteauneuf Road in the town of Curepipe, Mauritius on 25 November 1971.[2] Although witnesses have provided detailed accounts of the murder it remains unsolved.[3]

Trial of Sir Gaëtan Duval[]

In 1989 two ex-prisoners Paul Sarah and Moorgesh Shummoogum alleged in a statement to the police that in 1971 Sir Gaetan Duval had planned and commandeered the murder of Azor Adelaide at his Grand-Gaube bungalow. They made the police statement at the police station located outside then Prime Minister Sir Aneerood Jugnauth's residence at La Caverne, Vacoas. Paul Sarah, Moorgesh Shummoogum, Ignace Bahloo and André Celestin had already served prison sentences for their involvement in the 1971 murder.[4]

During the afternoon of 23 June 1989 Duval landed at Plaisance Airport in Mauritius from Madagascar and he was questioned by Superintendent of Police Reesaul of the Anti Drug and Smuggling Unit (ADSU). Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Cyril Morvan was also travelling on the same flight.[5]

Duval was escorted to Line Barracks in Port Louis where he was arrested on murder charges. He was questioned in the presence of his lawyer Kader Bhayat before being detained at the barracks of Special Mobile Force in Vacoas. The arrest led to various protests by Gaetan Duval's supporters which sometimes turned violent. They protested against the dictatorial behaviour of then PM Sir Aneerood Jugnauth. However after a lengthy trial Duval was acquitted of all murder charges.

Bibliography[]

The murder of Azor Adelaide is a central theme of the 2011 book L'affaire Azor Adélaide: le plus célèbre crime politique à Maurice which was written by Mauritian author Eric Bahloo.[6] Earlier in 2004 Jacques Panglose published a book Le procès du Roi which details the judicial battle of politician and lawyer Sir Gaetan Duval who was accused in 1989 by his former bodyguards of plotting and ordering the murder of Azor Adelaide.[7][8]

References[]

  1. ^ "48e anniversaire: Azor Adelaïde 1ère victime d'assassinat politique". 2019-11-27. Inside News.
  2. ^ "Translations on Sub-Saharan Africa, Issues 1379-1380". 1973. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  3. ^ Chicooree-Mercier, Nita. "A Glimmer of Hope". www.MauritiusTimes.com. Retrieved 2015-07-10.
  4. ^ "Interview of Eric Bahloo on his new book about Azor Adelaide's murder". Sunday Times. Retrieved 2012-10-01.
  5. ^ "Arrestation de Sir Gaëtan Duval à l'aéroport de Plaisance". L'Express. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
  6. ^ "Publication:Eric Bahloo, l'affaire Azor Adelaïde". Le Mauricien. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  7. ^ "Le procès du Roi". Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  8. ^ "Panglose raconte le roi Gaëtan Duval". L'Express. Retrieved 2020-08-20.


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