Mohamed Fahmy Hassan has been reappointed to a senior post at the Foreign Ministry despite his dismissal over widespread criticism four days after his first appointment as State Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Fahmy was appointed to the post on November 20, 2023 and removed on November 24, 2023.
Fahmy's appointment as a state minister drew criticism due to his previous dismissal as president of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) over sexual harassment.
However, Fahmy has now been reappointed to a senior post at the Foreign Ministry, Adhadhu has confirmed. The specific post is unclear.
After Fahmy and some other top officials were sacked less than two weeks into the new administration, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said they had been appointed without a proper vetting process.
"I did remove two or three appointees from their posts. That was an administrative mistake we made. They were appointed without checking some things. The appointments had not been done right," he said during a press conference on December 5.
Fahmy's dismissal from the CSC
Parliament's Independent Institutions Committee started looking into Fahmy's case on June 4, 2012 after a complaint alleging sexual harassment was filed by a female CSC employee.
A criminal investigation was also conducted by the police.
Both the female employee and Fahmy testified at a committee meeting held on June 11, 2012.
The committee also met other CSC staff and persons noted in the woman's statement. The eight people included two men and six women.
The matter was put to a vote at a committee meeting held on June 26, 2012.
Presenting the committee report to the Parliament floor, Kulhudhuffushi Dhekunu MP Mohamed Nasheed (Kutti Nasheed), chair of the committee, revealed that seven out of 10 committee members had concluded based on the inquiry's findings that Fahmy did commit the act.
"While Fahmy said at the committee that he absolutely had not touched [the female staff who submitted the complaint], on the day after the incident, Fahmy told two other commission members, Khadeeja Adam and Jameela Ali Khalid, that he might have grabbed the hand of [the female staff who submitted the complaint]," Nasheed said.
It was Fahmy who initiated the conversation and told the two CSC members that he might have touched her hand but denied caressing her stomach, the report added.
Five members of the committee supported Fahmy's removal from the post whilst five members voted to defer action until the criminal investigation was concluded.
As the vote was tied, Nasheed as chair voted to sack Fahmy.
The report was submitted to Parliament on November 20, 2012. In the vote taken that day, 37 out of 74 MPs in attendance voted in favor of dismissing Fahmy. Two MPs abstained and 32 MPs voted against dismissal.
On December 11, 2012, Fahmy filed a case against parliament at the Supreme Court, contending that his dismissal had been unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court ruled in his favor on March 14, 2013. Only current Chief Justice Muthasim Adnan from the seven-judge bench dissented from the majority opinion.
