Tunisia's Udau Hussein

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Marco Villa , Connecticut: Dec 10 2010

Made Popular Dec 10 2010

Tunisia :

Tunisia's Udau Hussein
The corruption of Tunisia’s ruling elite.

I could by now gather all my reports on Tunisian corruption and publish them as a book. Here we go again. Today’s post is about Mohamed Sakhr el-Matri, the aging president’s son-in-law, and one of the most corrupt and ambitions members of the ruling family.

Such are the unfortunate dramas of Arab political life. The current president Ben Ali (in power since ‘86 and just reelected to a fifth term at the age of 73) overthrew in a medical coup the then senile founding president of the republican Habib Bourguiba. The only relation is that Ben Ali was his prime minister, so as to say that their was no blood lines.

But Ben Ali, who came to office swearing an end to the concept of “president-for-life,” has allowed his in-laws to accumulate power and position themselves for succession. Ben Ali’s only son is about 4 , his two daughters are too young and his birth family is more interested in making (rather stealing) money rather than politics.

But if any family member takes over it will likely be Ben Ali son-in-law Mohamed Sakhr Materi. Born into a modest family, he married Ben Ali’s notorious partying daughter. The young man feigns piousness, but is a phony (I once saw him going out to party with two girls and a friend, his wife wasn’t there, and he was driving a Bentley). How did he afford such a car? Using his new connections to acquire state funds and companies. He recently bought a +$1 million home in Montreal. The home operates as a gateway house in case Ben Ali dies and a new political order takes place that would rightfully prosecute him and the Trabelsis and the Ben Alis for their theft.

Materi is seeking to prevent a day like that from ever happening by being president himself. He recently “won” a seat in parliament, and is seeking to build party support for his candidacy.
Ben Ali at least has some concern for the well being of Tunisia, but if any of the professional Trabelsi or Materi thieves took over the country would be ruined as it would be turned into nothing more than a vehicle to enrich the endlessly greedy Trabelsi-Materi clan. Forbid that day.

The U.S. embassy is paying him more attention as evidenced by the Wikileaks releases. A attention merited given his rising power.

One Wikileaks leaks cable reports: “Date26/02/2009 Mohamed Sakhr El-Matri, the President’s son-in-law, is viewed by many as a possible successor to President Ben Ali. Ref B reported his election to the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) party’s Central Committee in July 2008.”

But another Wikileaks release is filled with an intimate portrait of how vile this character is. The full document can be read here, but here’s an abridged one edited by the author, my comments are in brackets the comments in parentheses are in the original:

The [U.S.] Ambassador and his wife had dinner with Mohammad Sakher El Materi and his wife, Nesrine Ben Ali El Materi, at their Hammamet home July 17.

Ambassador raised the need for more freedom of expression and association in Tunisia. El Materi agreed. He complained that, as the new owner of Dar Assaba, the largest private newspaper group in the country, he has been getting calls from the Minister of Communications complaining about articles he has been running (Comment: This is doubtful).

El Materi complained at length about Tunisian bureaucracy, saying it is difficult to get things done. He said communication inside the bureaucracy is terrible. He said people often “bring wrong information” to the President implying he had to get involved sometimes to get things corrected [Indication of his rising power]

[While many Tunisian struggle to put bread on the table:] The dinner included perhaps a dozen dishes, including fish, steak, turkey, octopus, fish couscous and much more. The quantity was sufficient for a very large number of guests. Before dinner a wide array of small dishes were served, along with three different juices (including Kiwi juice, not normally available here). After dinner, he served ice cream and frozen yoghurt he brought in by plane from Saint Tropez, along with blueberries and raspberries and fresh fruit and chocolate cake. (NB. El Materi and Nesrine had just returned from Saint Tropez on their private jet after two weeks vacation.

As for the dinner itself, it was similar to what one might experience in a Gulf country, and out of the ordinary for Tunisia.

El Materi had staff everywhere. There were at least a dozen people, including a butler from Bangladesh and a nanny from South Africa. (NB. This is extraordinarily rare in Tunisia, and very expensive.)

Throughout the evening, El Materi often struck the Ambassador as demanding, vain and difficult. He is clearly aware of his wealth and power, and his actions reflected little finesse. He repeatedly pointed out the lovely view from his home and frequently corrected his staff, issued orders and barked reprimands.

Most striking of all, however, was the opulence with which El Materi and Nesrine live. Their home in Hammamet was impressive, with the tiger adding to the impression of “over the top.” Even more extravagant is their home still under construction in Sidi Bou Said. That residence, from its outward appearance, will be closer to a palace. It dominates the Sidi Bou Said skyline from some vantage points and has been the occasion of many private, critical comments. The opulence with which El Materi and Nesrine live and their behavior make clear why they and other members of Ben Ali’s family are disliked and even hated by some Tunisians. The excesses of the Ben Ali family are growing.

Lastly, this one takes the cake:

El Materi has a large tiger (“Pasha”) on his compound, living in a cage. He acquired it when it was a few weeks old. The tiger consumes four chickens a day. (Comment: The situation reminded the Ambassador of Uday Hussein’s lion cage in Baghdad.)

May this vile ambitious wanna-be-tyrant and his entourage get his comeuppance soon. And be sent packing to Canada.