Court case Coetivy claim of ownership postponed again |10 April 2021
The judgment on the claim before the Supreme Court for the return of Coetivy Island to its former owner, which was to be decided yesterday, has been postponed to May 18, 2021, at 10am.
It was the presiding judge over the case, Ellen Carolus, who made the announcement in Court 6, citing she was not ready with the judgment.
The case involves a petition brought forward by Alain Hoareau, an adopted son of the late Andre Delhomme (one among the former owners of Coetivy Island), for the return of the island to the Delhomme family as the government had breached a clause in the sale agreement.
“This is the second time this year that the case had been postponed since we started off last year and I feel there is a game being played and I feel very disappointed, upset, disturbed and not happy at all,” Mr Hoareau said.
In December 13, 1979, the one party state government bought the island from the late Andre Delhomme (who in 1948 had inherited the island from his deceased French wife, Myriam Hadee) for a sum of R4 million. In the sale agreement, Mr Delhomme was paid R2.5 million upfront and the R1.5 million was to be paid by monthly R300,000 installments. Through a written hypothec, in favour of Mr Delhomme, the government was to return the island to him in default of paying the outstanding balance.
In his claim set before the court in 2020, Mr Hoareau had said that the government had not paid the remaining balance and therefore is liable to return the island to the family.
“There is no proof from the family or at the registrar that government has paid out the money owed. If there was proof there would have been no case,” said Mr Hoareau, who is also representing three other heirs (sisters) living in France.
He stated that the family is also looking into the return of other pieces of land, belonging to them, that were unlawfully acquired.
He further stated that if the island is returned to them, they would fight for the return of other lands that belong to them, from government.
He claimed that his father, who had been approached by foreign investors to sell the island for R500 million at that time, had to under duress sell the island to the former Albert Rene regime for the derisory sum of R4 million.
“We (family) also can develop the island if we get it back, and we will do it for and with the Seychellois people. The island was very productive then before it was taken over. I hope that justice is done to the family,” he said.
On his part, lawyer Frank Elizabeth, representing the family, explained that he understood the ruling given by judge Carolus as he is aware of her situation with regard to the pressure of work she is under in relation to some emergency court cases, including a deportation case, relating to one of his clients.
He said that as government has not paid the balance owed to the family, he had asked the court to cancel the sale between the government and Mr Delhomme, as it is not valid before the law.
“Firstly, we are asking that Coetivy is returned to the family and that the family, in turn, will give back the R2.5 million back to government. If the court rules that the government keeps the island, we are asking that it pays the family the R1.5 million owed plus a 12% interest at commercial rate, including paying out the court fees,” Mr Elizabeth said.
In the first postponement of the case on March 19, 2021, the reason given by judge Carolus was that the person holding all of the exhibits was in quarantine.
Patrick Joubert