Salesi Temo – the Acting Chief Justice – already has a reputation for cantankerous outbursts and abject stupidity in the courts* and has put that reputation beyond doubt with his astonishing evidence to the Tribunal investigating the allegations of misbehaviour against the DPP, Christopher Pryde.
It beggars belief that the most senior judge in the country accused the DPP in open court on Wednesday of “stealing” superannuation that he claims Christopher Pryde is not entitled to when that superannuation extends back to the time when Pryde was solicitor general and has been the subject of repeated audits in the eleven years that he has held public office in Fiji.
“Stealing”? Why has this alleged theft not come to light during more than a decade in which Pryde held the office of solicitor general and then the Director of Public Prosecutions? But more pertinently, why did it take a full year after Pryde was suspended for being seen talking to Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum for Justice Temo to lay the additional charge of misbehaviour for unauthorised superannuation payments? A full 12 months when state investigators were crawling all over the ODPP and the rest of government looking for additional evidence to make the charges against Christopher Pryde stick.
The Acting Chief Justice has made an outrageous smear against the DPP in accusing him of stealing from the Fijian people. And it is compounded by Salesi Temo doing so when he knows that Christopher Pryde can’t respond to the accusation because he withdrew from the proceedings after the Acting Chief Justice stole his salary – unlawfully cutting him off from the ability to pay his defence counsel and adequately defend himself.
Salesi Temo made the additional outrageous comment that it was “unfair” of the DPP to insist that his salary be restored before he took part in the current witch-hunt before the kangaroo court trying him in absentia for charges Christopher Pryde maintains are contrived. With a straight face, the Acting CJ said Pryde could have defended himself or applied for legal aid. The clear inference was :”how dare he insist on being represented by senior counsel!”
Salesi Temo cut off Pryde’s salary six months ago to degrade his ability to defend himself in direct contravention of a statement by the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, that the DPP was entitled to continue to be paid. Now he says that Pryde should have sacrificed himself at the altar of one of the oldest cautionary dictums in the law – that a lawyer who defends himself has a fool for a client. Or, alternatively, throw himself at the mercy of a junior defence lawyer from the Legal Aid Commission when he occupies one of the highest offices in the state.
It is unbelievable cheek and definitive confirmation – if any were needed – that Salesi Temo is unfit to head the judiciary and must be removed as a matter of urgency. His appearance at the Tribunal was an unmitigated disaster for his own reputation and seriously damaged his own credibility and the credibility of his fellow judges and the entire criminal justice system.
Fancy the head of the judiciary having the gall to accuse the DPP of being “unfair” for insisting on proper representation just days after the Fiji Law Society told the Tribunal that pressing ahead with the hearing without Christopher Pryde violated his constitutional right to fairness. Salesi Temo is a serial violator of the Constitution – an outlaw and an oaf bereft of the most basic judgment and common sense. And he poses a clear and present danger to confidence in the criminal justice system and the rule of law in Fiji.
An astonishing performance that is already sending shock waves through the legal profession and the wider community as the details of Wednesday’s hearing become more widely known. If this is the state of the judiciary in Fiji, then God help us. And especially anyone who falls foul of the iTaukei elite who have seized control of the levers of power in the “New Order”- including the supposedly independent offices of state – and are using them to advance their own interests.
* Among a great many cantankerous outbursts, Salesi Temo angrily threatened to sool the police onto the Resident Magistrate, Seini Puamau, for defying him during the Bainimarama-Qiliho proceedings in direct contravention of the Constitution (Section 113/5)) that protects judicial officers from civil or criminal action in the performance of their duties.
And among his many instances of abject stupidity, Salesi Temo has had multiple official complaints laid against him for blaming women for inviting rape and sexual assault because of their dress and behaviour.
UPDATE:
Coverage in the two main dailies on Thursday December 5.
Fiji Times front page….
Fiji Sun…
Talk about a stitch-up. The accusation of theft is outrageous under the circumstances. The Acting Chief Justice is accusing the DPP of a criminal offence. Is this the prelude to charges being laid by FICAC?
Christopher Pryde has largely kept his counsel ( withheld comment as opposed to retaining his lawyer). But he can now be expected to remove the gloves after Salesi Temo’s crude attempt to destroy his reputation.
What is emerging is an ugly conspiracy to get rid of the DPP at all costs, not just by the iTaukei elite in government and the offices of state but their Indo-Fijian quislings like Charan Jeath (“Make mine Blue Label”) Singh. What an unpleasant human being.
And still the Fijian media refuses to report the contents of the letter the President of the Fiji Law Society, Wylie Clarke, sent to the Chair of the Pryde Tribunal, Justice Anare Tuilevuka, last Friday telling him that proceeding with the hearing violated Christopher Pryde’s constitutional right to fairness.
What conclusion can we draw from this? That the mainstream media in Fiji is part of the conspiracy to remove the DPP. The entire place is rotten from the top down.
What everyone really needs to understand is that this hearing is not being held to determine if Pryde is guilty beyond all reasonable doubt.
Rather, it is a hearing being held with the preconceived conclusion that Pryde is guilty and no evidence to prove otherwise will be allowed to be presented to change that decision.
The JSC is merely sitting to formalise these falsified charges to soil the reputation of a man who has been made a scapegoat for merely speaking to someone, at a private event, that this government hates with a passion.
What’s more interesting is the fact that Charan Jeath Singh was sober enough to point a camera and take the shot, given his love for the bottle.
The Prime Minister and President should urgently do all Fijians a favor by removing the Acting Chief Justice from his position before he does more harm and puts the Fiji Judiciary into further disrepute.
What Fiji needs now is a competent, neutral, and distinguished Chief Justice to salvage the reputation of the judiciary even if it means recruiting an expatriate judge.
This will be good for the citizens as well as foreign investors, who are becoming hesitant by the day, to invest in Fiji.
This is why the Fijian judiciary cannot have a local CJ ever. Locals cant be trusted to be indepdendent as they will always be influenced by their communities and happy to be manipulated by political forces.
The same should apply to the role of the COMPOL. It should never be held by a local.
You made an outrageous claim on Graham’s previous thread, that Temo’s appointment is illegal.
Please shed some light to give us more reason to have him and this coalition removed.
Temo’s appointment was not illegal, though he was not the best qualified of the judges to became acting CJ. But too much of his conduct since has been illegal – multiple violations of the Constitution, the most egregious of which was the appointment of John Rabuku as Acting DPP when the Constitution specifically prohibited it because of Rabuku’s professional misconduct.
As the Fiji Law Society has stated, the JSC’s action in proceeding with this Tribunal without the DPP being represented is also unconstitutional in that it denies him procedural and administrative fairness.
As I have repeatedly stated, Temo is an outlaw who has brought the criminal justice system into disrepute. And he has now compounded it with a false and highly defamatory accusation of “stealing” against the DPP.
Christopher Pryde has had the same superannuation arrangements for 11 years, ever since he was appointed solicitor general. And this is a fabricated charge to add to the existing fabricated charge to try to nail the DPP when they have not been able to find one instance of genuine misbehaviour despite trying as hard as they can for the best part of two years.
Temo is not only an oaf. He is a mediocre dinosaur who has been given the license to subject the rest of us to his stupidity. Pryde should respond strongly to this idiot. The next Government should remove Temo from the judiciary altogether. He is a threat to the integrity of the state and to the rule of law and national unity.
The thing is, he is the Acting CJ, an iTaukei in his own country so he is ENTITLED to be a dickhead if he so wishes. Unashamedly and without fear. Freedom means they are now free to be idiots and make laws as they please.
Their opinions are now the law. Their personal prejudices are now the law. Hearsay is now the law. One can now draw conclusions on what is being discussed from a photo. As for the ‘respected’ Anare Tuilevuka, we shall wait and see. Very high iTaukei standards are being set. Fiji is a special place , ably assisted by people like Biman and Charan Jeath, who are involved in setting the highest standards.
The A/CJ in his evidence, if you could call it that, has again demonstrated his total lack of understanding of the industrial laws related to employment of expats in Fiji. The fact that it is a standard requirement to pay super seems to be something he cannot understand. Another example of him ignoring law and convention!
All expats employed in Fiji Government positions, including those appointed under the Constitution are paid super in lieu of FNPF and have been for years! He is showing his bias and his vindictiveness towards those who are not iTaukei!
The treatment of Christopher Pryde by the JSC and now this Tribunal illuminates how the Judiciary will now operate in Fiji when it comes to non iTaukei be they individuals or companies. I will be advising people accordingly!
Lmao! I find the above article very amusing.
GD, your unwavering and steadfast support for CP is admirable and something to be appreciated. I’m sure you’re a great friend to CP, and anyone would be fortunate to have you on their side. However, with respect, it’s important to remember our role as observers in this matter. Ultimately, there are two sides to every story. CP has his, and the state has theirs. The tribunal will determine which is correct.
“Two sides to every story”? Are you kidding? Read the letter from the Fiji Law Society to the Tribunal, which has been suppressed by the toothless lapdogs of the Fijian media.
You don’t need my perspective as an “observer”. It is the state using its power against an individual by depriving that individual of the means to properly defend himself. So yes, there are two sides to this story. A shocking injustice. And a racially motivated stitch-up.
What the Tribunal decides without the accused is neither here nor there. It is still a kangaroo court and a show trial with a predetermined outcome. And as such, worthless as an expression of what is “correct”.
I think Fijian observer should make full disclosure so that we all know where he is coming from. He should tell us if he is a prejudiced iTaukei, does he not like vulagi in positions of importance in Fiji, is he thrilled that dodgy iTaukeis are being appointed to certain positions, is he happy that iTaukei have taken back control of their own country, is he happy with the ‘high standards’ being set, is he a Christian or an Israelite, where does he see the other side of this story in the tribunal, and finally is he happy to be an idiot with a Third World mentality.
There’s an old adage that a picture can tell a thousand words. Temo can’t even get that right, saying “a photograph can tell a thousand stories”
If you’re part of the present corrupt government and legal system, you don’t need a photograph, you can just make up stories, thousands of them and no one will challenge them.
And most people, by now, will know exactly where this case is going. And that the outcome was determined well before the hearing even started.
Unbelievable!
Fiji is already 99.99% a banana republic. The next step is inevitable. Anarchy! The vulagis now know that they’re not wanted and will leave in droves, if not already. The itaukei will then turn on each other because they will all want a piece of the action. My guess it will be sooner rather than later. This is what happens when all regard for law and order has been trashed. Thanks to Rabuka the Snake and his corrupt politicians in government. Vinaka Mr Liumiri 😡
The clowns in parliament have no guts to intervene, they are quietly smirking in restrained delight as their shock troops in the judiciary submit Christopher Pryde to the equivalent of a felon at a medieval village market, with his head chained through a yoke and shoppers pelting him with rotten fruit as they pass by.
This inquiry without the participation of the defendant and the Fiji Law Society is a farce.
This man is a thug and an idiot. Fullstop.
Let’s say no more.
Hi Graham, you’ll remember better than me as I was only in primary school at the time (and I recall you covering the news and coming to Fiji to interview Frank in the years following) but, isn’t the state of things in Fiji the same/similar to that of Fiji in the lead up to the 2006 coup?
Just to name a few factors/pieces: A rogue government with odd ideas of ethno-nationalism, racist legislation, a couple of convicted persons, literally people who were involved in the 2000 coup (both in the 2006 govt and today’s 2024) – you could take these factors and apply them equally to the 2006 government as you could the current government.
The only thing missing from today’s scenario is a leader like Frank who is willing to get into the dirt and conduct a clean-up campaign (those were his original reasons) and toss out the racist legislation and policies.
If the grounds were right for a change with those factors then, aren’t they right now?
I’m not advocating for a coup, I think we all know that coups have done well to take Fiji backwards – so, a coup is certainly not the way. But a change of some sort is desperately needed.
GD, As usual you and countless others have missed the main issue happening in this kangaroo court and countless other “investigations, charges, and allegations” that are at play as we speak.
None of these and I mean not a single one of these pantomimes are being executed, aided and abetted without the complete knowledge and tacit support of the most evil bastard to be born in our beautiful but fast decaying Fiji.
The evil fcker knows it all from instigating and issuing orders to “get” everyone who he thinks is a danger to his evil grip on power to feigning surprise and ignorance about the circus happening around him throughout fiji. He is the perpetual “good cop” and he only knows the good stuff that’s happening and he doesn’t know anything about all the f**k ups and chaos being actioned by his troops from within and outside parliament.
He is the evil chameleon who successfully has been able to bamboozle everyone, especially his own racist itaukei and stupid indo fijian supporters. Just when u think people can see through his bullshit…out comes the baritone gibberish peppered with key words such as “God, unity and truth and reconciliation etc etc blah blah blah…
Sometimes the bullshit is executed with some useful props like a wooden stick or staff that makes him look very biblical…tightly shut evil snake eyes with head bowed down helps the savior image as well.
And so the almost 4 decade old con job continues with his stupid disciples hanging on to his every stupid, contradictory and inconsistent lie. Don’t be fooled fiji…Sitiveni Rabuka knows and controls everything including the fat clown Temo and his merry men and women. He is the epitome of evil. Temo would not do this without Rabuka’s blessings.
I take your point. And I agree. He never really believed that Pryde’s salary should be restored. He was just playing “good cop” for public consumption. Temo would have been told to go for it. And Graham Leung has been part of the conspiracy as well.
Stand by. There is about to be a big spanner thrown in the works.