Africa’s only female President, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, resigns

The only female President in Africa, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, resigned at the week end over credit card scandal.

President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim of Mauritania resigned on Saturday and will leave office on Friday, her lawyer Yusuf Mohamed, said.

It was gathered that President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim had indicated that she would step down last Monday, and when Ms Gurib-Fakim failed to fulfill that intention, there was constitutional crisis on the Indian Ocean Island.

Mauritanian local media had reported in February that the country’s first female president, a renowned scientist, had used a credit card given to her by the Planet Earth Institute (PEI) in London to buy jewelry and clothes overseas.

The local paper indicated that she was given the card for serving as the NGO’s unpaid director and it was to be used to pay for the promotion of a doctorate programme named after the president.

Ms. Gurib-Fakim’s office said she “had an identical credit card from the same bank [and] inadvertently used the card from the PEI for expenses not linked to her mission”.

It added that $27,000 (£19,335) had been refunded and Ms. Gurib-Fakim would defend herself with “legal action”.

In a statement, PEI London said that Ms. Gurib-Fakim had refunded the money to its Mauritian sister organisation.

The organisation said it had given her a credit card to cover travel expenses while promoting African science, technology and innovation.

However, the explanations did not stop the Mauritanian female President to quit office, essentially, since the issue generated constitutional; crisis in the country.