J. Bérenger: MMM ignored Gang of 5 warnings

FMP Member of Parliament Joanna Bérenger has made a striking admission: when Paul Bérenger was publicly denouncing what he called a 'Gang of 5' operating within the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), his own party — the MMM — and its then-ally Rezistans ek Alternativ (ReA) refused to take him seriously. Speaking to ION News by telephone, Joanna Bérenger confirmed that during press conferences and Political Bureau meetings held at the time, MMM members consistently argued there was no concrete evidence to support Paul Bérenger's allegations. ReA members echoed the same position, effectively turning a blind eye to what was being raised. The FMP deputy did not stop there. She also recalled a separate but equally troubling episode involving another adviser at the PMO — an individual who allegedly attempted to bribe the then-Minister of Education. Rather than facing lasting consequences, that adviser was sidelined for only a few weeks before returning to work alongside former Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam as if nothing had happened. It is this pattern of short-lived accountability that leads Joanna Bérenger to a sobering prediction: the situation of Jean Karl Élysée, the PMO adviser currently at the centre of the Mamy affair, will likely follow the same script. Jean Karl Élysée stepped down from his advisory role at the PMO pending an investigation into allegations made against him in the Mamy case. He has categorically denied any involvement. What makes Joanna Bérenger's intervention particularly significant is its self-critical dimension. As a former MMM figure herself, she is essentially acknowledging that the political class — across party lines — has historically chosen institutional comfort over transparency when it comes to misconduct within the PMO. The question now is whether the current political moment, with a new government in place and public scrutiny at a high, will produce a different outcome. For Mauritians watching the Mamy affair unfold, Bérenger's warning serves as a reminder that without structural accountability mechanisms, the temporary 'stepping down' of officials risks becoming little more than a waiting period before a quiet return to power.