News Desk
President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has reshuffled the leadership of a special commission tasked with investigating how the previous administration handled a high-stakes maritime border dispute with Mauritius.
Under a presidential decree issued today, President Muizzu removed the inquiry panel’s initial chairman, Ahmed Shakir, alongside commissioner Abdul Azeez Yoosuf. In their place, the president appointed two new members—Capt. Ahmed Zubair and Aishath Fazuna Ahmed—and named Dr Abdul Muhusin Mohamed as the commission’s new head.
The personnel changes reflect broader questions surrounding the proficiency and career backgrounds of key figures in the commission. Shakir, a veteran civil servant who entered the legal profession later in life, took on the chairmanship despite reports regarding his limited English proficiency—a factor raised given the heavy international legal documentation involved in the case. Meanwhile, Abdul Azeez Yoosuf brings a career spent in foreign service, having previously served as a senior diplomat.
Dr Muhsin is an academic and veteran bureaucrat with long-standing service in the education sector, specifically in curriculum development and the Ministry of Education.
The panel was originally established on 2 November under executive powers granted by the Maldivian Constitution. Its goal is to scrutinise the actions of former officials during proceedings before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg, which delimited the overlapping Exclusive Economic Zone between the Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago.
According to the President’s Office, an independent panel of international experts hired by the current administration concluded that decisions taken by the prior MDP government resulted in the loss of a vast area of ocean territory, dealing long-term damage to the nation’s fisheries and seabed resources.
The reconstituted seven-member commission now comprises:
Dr Abdul Muhusin Mohamed (Chairperson)
Dr Aminath Shafiya Adam
Mohamed Sodiq (Retired Deputy Commissioner of Police)
Ahmed Ali Manik
Fathimath Minhat Izzath
Aishath Fazna Ahmed
Capt. Ahmed Zubair
The commission has been given broad powers to investigate whether state officials, legal advisers, or government employees committed legal negligence during the tribunal proceedings. It is also tasked with examining how case documentation was handled and recommending legal or administrative actions against any individuals found responsible for misconduct.
The presidential decree specifies that the commission will remain active until President Muizzu formally determines that its investigation is complete.
