Xewkija mayor drops case against land grab by her father’s canvasser

Simona Refalo, the 19-year-old newly elected Labour mayor of Xewkija and daughter of veteran Labour Minister Anton Refalo, has inexplicably dropped a court case started by the local council against Ronald Debrincat.

Debrincat, a teacher, snatched part of a playing field in the Gozitan village and added it to his private residence.

Court documents seen by The Shift show that last month, during the first session of the case since Simona Refalo was elected mayor, the local council informed the presiding magistrate that it would be dropping the case against Debrincat.

No reason was given for this decision.

When The Shift contacted Refalo to explain her stance, the young mayor tried to distance herself, saying: “I have nothing to do with this case.”

However, when The Shift pointed out that the case was abandoned as soon as she became mayor, Refalo refused to answer and hung up.

Refalo’s position goes against what she had told The Shift soon after her election in June.

While she had also tried to play down Debrincat’s illegalities at the time, stating that it was the previous mayor, Labour’s Hubert Saliba, who took Debrincat to Court, she insisted that the case would continue.

She told The Shift, “I can never condone such irregularities,” about Debrincat’s illegal land grab. Now, she seems to have changed her mind.

The Shift had revealed that Debrincat, who abusively built a room annexed to his house on part of a playing field in Ġnien Castelvenere, is a canvasser of Minister Anton Refalo, the mayor’s father.

The Mayor herself is a frequent visitor at Debrincat’s home as he helps her out with her studies for a law degree.

The Shift revealed the illegal land grab earlier this year.

Debrincat took over the playing field in the summer of 2023 and dismantled a swing and two public benches.

Heavy machinery appeared on the site, and a sizeable room was built at the back of his house, with a door opening onto the remainder of the playing field.

Following the authorities’ failure to start legal action against Debrincat, the former mayor had started legal action through a case presented in Court in October 2023. He had told The Shift that he was not finding any cooperation to uphold the rule of law – not from the authorities or his fellow councillors.

He did not contest the local elections last June.

Efforts to contact PN Xewkija councillor Josef Hili for his comments on the latest developments proved futile as he never returned The Shift’s calls.

Last July, Gozo’s Administrative Review Tribunal ruled that the teacher had acted illegally and the Lands Authority was right to refuse his application to acquire the public land.

The Court ruled that the public interest prevailed and that the authorities should start legal action against Debrincat to reverse the illegal situation.

So far, the Lands Authority has taken no legal action against Debrincat.