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Govt prepares for Mahdia fire Commission of Inquiry

Last Updated on Tuesday, 27 June 2023, 11:24 by Denis Chabrol

President Irfaan Ali on Tuesday said preparations were being finalised to hold a  Commission of Inquiry into the fire at the Mahdia Secondary School dormitory that claimed the lives of 20 children.

“We are finalising the TOR (Terms of Reference) right now,” he told reporters. He plans to meet with the team under the leadership of Retired Major General Joseph Singh later this week.

Dr Ali said he would be meeting with family members of the 19 girls and one boy who perished in the blaze on May 22, 2023 to discuss some “outstanding issues.”

A school girl, who had allegedly threatened to burn down the dormitory after her cellular phone was taken away by the dorm mother and a teacher, has since been charged with murder and remanded to a juvenile detention centre pending trial.

No mention was made of involving the opposition A Partnership for National Unity in formulating the terms of reference and picking the Commissioners. Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton had said that doing so would allow for broad acceptance of the process and the outcome.