As the people of Mauritius prepare to celebrate the country’s 50th independence anniversary, the government has set plans in motion to launch impeachment procedures to dismiss the country’s first female President.

The decision to impeach Ameenah Gurib – Fakim, who was sworn in after being elected in 2015 was reached during a Cabinet meeting chaired by the country’s Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth on Thursday afternoon.

The Cabinet members unanimously agreed that Gurib-Fakin would have to quit her position after being indicted in an expenses scandal in which she was accused of spending several hundreds of thousands of rupees on personal purchases using a Platinum credit card issued to her by Planet Earth Institute (PEI), a non-government organization.

PEI is reportedly owned by Alvaro Sobrino, a controversial Angolan businessman who was accused of colluding with the President to award fraudulent scholarships to Mauritian students.

The embattled President initially questioned the authenticity of the allegations but later admitted, claiming to have reimbursed all the money she spent using the credit card.

Gurib-Fakim, a renowned scientist said the cabinet members could go ahead with their probe, insisting she would not vacate her position since all the money she had been accused of spending had already been refunded.

“I will not resign. Let them institute their tribunal. I will see later if I am guilty. Since 2017 I have already refunded all the money,” she told Radio Plus, a local radio station.

The nation’s National Assembly is likely to sit next week after the Independence Day Celebrations on March 12, and a motion under section 30 (1) of the country’s constitution is expected to be on the agenda.

Under the section, the Mauritian President (or Vice President) may only be removed from office for:

(a) Violation of the country’s Constitution or any other serious act of misconduct or,

(b) Inability to perform his/her functions, whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or from any other cause.

In order for the impeachment process to be initiated, a motion has to be raised by the country’s Prime Minister to the parliament that the circumstances requiring the removal of the President or the Vice be investigated by a tribunal.

The motion must also provide the grounds on which the removal is sought which must be supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all the members of the Assembly.

Should the motion succeed, a 2 – 4 member tribunal appointed by the Chief Justice of the country must be constituted to investigate the alleged misconduct or violation.

If the tribunal, after the conclusion of its investigations, recommends that the President be removed, the Prime Minister may then raise the motion for the President’s removal.