London Way Supermarket in Mahébourg Looted: Guard Tells All

A security guard working at the London Way supermarket in Mahébourg has spoken out about the terrifying events of Tuesday evening, when a crowd broke into and looted the store amid the wave of civil unrest sweeping parts of Mauritius.

Mahébourg is a coastal town in the south-east of Mauritius, in the Grand Port district. The London Way supermarket is a well-known retail outlet serving the local community in that area.

According to the guard's account reported by Le Défi Media, the scene unfolded as looters targeted the premises, overwhelming any resistance and making off with goods from inside the store. The guard witnessed the pillaging firsthand, offering one of the most direct eyewitness accounts yet of how these incidents are playing out on the ground.

The looting at London Way is part of a broader pattern of retail theft and vandalism that has gripped several parts of Mauritius this week. Other stores hit during the unrest include SaveMax supermarkets in Camp-Levieux and Bambous, pointing to a coordinated or copycat wave of criminal opportunism taking advantage of the disorder.

Mauritian authorities have responded to the unrest with a nationwide curfew, restrictions on fuel sales in jerry cans, and warnings that anti-terrorism legislation could be used against rioters and looters. The Mauritius Police Force has been placed on full alert, with aerial patrols also reported over affected areas.

As of this week, 94 people have been arrested in connection with the unrest, including 16 minors and one police officer. The government is also reportedly considering lowering the age of criminal detention to 12, reflecting concerns about the involvement of young people in the violence and looting.

Business owners and supermarket operators across the island are on edge, with Business Mauritius — the main private sector body — urging firms to remain open and maintain normal operations where safe to do so.

What this means: The looting of retail stores like London Way is not just a criminal matter — it has direct consequences for food security, employment, and the livelihoods of shop owners and their staff in local communities. For residents of Mahébourg and surrounding areas who rely on these outlets for daily essentials, closures or damage caused by looting can create immediate shortages and economic hardship. The spreading pattern of incidents across the island underlines why authorities have taken the unusual step of imposing a curfew and deploying wide-ranging security measures.

Source: Le Défi Media