President Mohamed Muizzu, his wife Sajidha Mohamed, and their three children are currently in Singapore, sources have confirmed.
Muizzu departed for Singapore on an unofficial visit on Monday. Before this, Sajidha had travelled to London on May 13.
Their daughter is a student at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, the same institution from which the President graduated. It is understood that Sajidha travelled from the UK to Singapore, accompanied by their daughter and two sons.
The government's chief spokesperson, Mohamed Hussain Shareef (Mundhu), previously said that Muizzu's visit to Singapore was for a family vacation.
This followed claims by former President Mohamed Nasheed that Muizzu had travelled to Singapore to meet with Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim.
"I am informed that President Dr. Muizzu has travelled to Singapore to speak with Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim. I do not anticipate that Nazim will engage in talks with Dr. Muizzu," Nasheed said on Monday.
Nazim left the Maldives following rumors of his potential arrest. At the time, the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) had initiated proceedings to remove him from his position as Deputy Speaker of Parliament.
The resolution submitted by PNC members to dismiss Nazim alleged that he had acted with political bias and attempted to incite discord within the Parliament.
Nazim is regarded as one of the most experienced politicians currently in the Maldives. He previously served as Deputy Speaker from 2009 until 2015.
Nazim was once a close ally of former President Abdulla Yameen and played a key role in Yameen’s first political party, the People’s Alliance.
However, following a political fallout after Yameen assumed the presidency, Nazim was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2015 on fraud charges. Later that year, after being granted permission to travel to Singapore for medical treatment, he sought political asylum in the United Kingdom.
Nazim returned to the Maldives in 2018 after the Supreme Court overturned his conviction.
