Resident Magistrate Joji Boseiwaqa delivered a hesitant ruling today regarding former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum’s request to consolidate the charges against him and former Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem. Magistrate Boseiwaqa stated that he could not assess the arguments from both the Defence and the State since the case is already in the hands of Magistrate Yogesh Prasad.
Both defendants were present in court; however, Sayed-Khaiyum has been excused from the upcoming session scheduled for Tuesday. He faces a charge of abuse of office linked to a report filed by the Supervisor of Elections, Ana Mataiciwa. The allegation involves Sayed-Khaiyum, who was Acting Prime Minister between June 30 and July 12, 2022, signing a Deed of Variation and Addendum between the Government and then-Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem. It is claimed that this approval for the Government to cover Saneem’s taxes was executed without the necessary authorization from the Constitutional Offices Commission and the President.
Saneem, on the other hand, is facing a charge of receiving a corrupt benefit. It is alleged that between June 1 and July 31, 2022, while serving as Supervisor of Elections, Saneem solicited and received a benefit for himself by obtaining approval and payment of more than $50,000 in deductible tax relief on his back pay from a senior Government official, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.