History is repeating itself with Charlie Charters in his sustained campaign to destroy the credibility of Justice David Ashton-Lewis and Janet Mason – the iTaukei-speaking Fijian lawyer who was Counsel Assisting the landmark Supreme Court Commission of Inquiry into the Malimali Affair.
We have seen it all before in the British-born expatriate’s sustained campaign to impugn the integrity of the DPP, Christopher Pryde, who he accused of hounding his mother-in-law, Mere Mamisoni – the late Bread Queen, politician and nationalist agitator.
Mere Samisoni confessed in a police interview to being part of a plot to burn down buildings in Suva. She lent her car to a group of nationalist extremists who used it to carry petrol bombs to use in the attack. Forensic tests subsequently established the presence of petrol in her car and she admitted to knowing about the plan.
On the basis of that confession, Christopher Pryde prosecuted the Madrai Queen. But the DPP was eventually obliged to file a nolle prosequi – “no wish to prosecute” – when Mere Samisoni’s defence team was able to demonstrate that the confession she made was outside the statutory limit that would make it admissible as evidence in her case.
There is no question that Pryde was right to pursue Mere Samisoni. She had confessed to a serious crime. There was a police record of interview to this effect. It fulfilled both conditions for any DPP to proceed with a prosecution – that there was a reasonable chance of securing a conviction and the prosecution was in the public interest.
This was clearly in the public interest. And the fact that Mere Samisoni was eventually able to escape justice on a technicality doesn’t mean that she shouldn’t have been pursued. She CONFESSED to being part of a plot to fire-bomb the capital. Yet ever since, Charlie Charters – who is married to Samisoni’s daughter, Vanessa – has pursued Christopher Pryde in a sustained campaign to damage his integrity and character.
The same thing is now happening as Charlie Charters targets Justice David Ashton-Lewis and Janet Mason. He is doing so openly declaring in the Fiji Times articles attacking the COI that he is a friend of 30 years standing of Wylie Clarke – the President of the Fiji Law Society – who the COI says is liable to a charge of perverting the course of justice.
This finding arises from the fact that Wylie Clarke was present at FICAC headquarters on September 5 last year during the extraordinary pile-on against Francis Puleiwai which has been recorded digitally and is highly damaging to Clarke and others, especially the Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, and the Chief Registrar, Tomasi Bainivalu.
Bainivalu – in the recording made by the then FICAC Chief Investigator, Kuliniasi Saumi – relays a message from the Chief Justice telling Francis Puleiwai, the FICAC acting deputy commissioner who was in the process of being removed, that no charges she lays will be heard by any court in Fiji. It applied to the charge Puleiwai planned to lay that very day against the Deputy Prime Minister, Biman Prasad, for making a false income declaration to the Elections Office.
It is all there on the recording and is undeniable – explosive hard evidence that has resulted in the COI finding that both the Chief Justice and the Chief Registrar are liable to charges of obstructing and perverting the course of justice. And of lying about it – committing perjury – in the subsequent COI hearing in which Temo and Bainivalu gave sworn evidence.
How does Charlie Charter’s friend, Wylie Clarke, come into it? He was present in the room when Bainivalu conveyed the extraordinary message from the Chief Justice that no charge Puleiwai laid as FICAC head would be heard by any court in Fiji. And on the evidence of the recording, Wylie Clarke said nothing. The President of the Fiji Law Society remained mute as the corruption watchdog was throttled when he should have spoken out against a glaring act of unlawful conduct.
Another of Charlie Charter’s old mates, Richard Naidu, also played a role in that FICAC pantomime even though he wasn’t present in the room. Naidu was Biman Prasad’s lawyer. And before Francis Puleiwai was removed and Barbara Malimali was parachuted in and shut down the FICAC case against Prasad, Richard Naidu had succeeded in persuading Puleiwai to delay charging his client because the President of the World Bank was coming to town. That delay paved the way for Puleiwai to be removed and replaced by Barbara Malimali and for Biman Prasad to escape being charged altogether. Because as soon as Malimali took over as FICAC Commissioner, that was the end of it.
Now why would Charlie Charters eventually emerge as the attack dog on social media and in the Fiji Times to defend his friend, Wylie Clarke, and by extension Richard Naidu and Biman Prasad? Why is he now leading the attack on the integrity of Justice David Ashton-Lewis and Janet Mason? He is thousands of kilometers away from Fiji – variously either in Hong Kong, where he is evidently based temporarily, Qatar, where he has also been doing business in his role as a sports administrator and his home in Yorkshire in the north of England.
Answer: He is doing so on behalf of the principals because he remains close to them and he can. He can write persuasively and he can also do so with an appearance of some personal distance from Wylie Clarke and Richard Naidu, though he has declared his 30 year friendship with Wylie Clarke in the Fiji Times. But let there be no doubt that given the physical distance between Charlie Charters and Fiji, the bulk of the information he is receiving in his campaign against the COI is coming from Clarke and Naidu. And Naidu has been his entrée to the Fiji Times as its lawyer to deliver national coverage of their joint effort to trash the credibility of Justice Ashton-Lewis and Janet Mason.
Yet suddenly there is a new and more sinister dimension to this campaign. Because Charlie Charters has made a formal complaint against David Ashton-Lewis to the Judicial Services Commission – which is headed by the Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, and whose Secretary is Tomasi Bainivalu. Yes, two powerful figures who in common with Wylie Clarke, have been accused by the COI of perverting the course of justice. And what is emerging is clear evidence of a conspiracy to target the Judge by questioning his integrity, the integrity of the entire COI process and ensure than no charge against the Chief Justice, the Chief Registrar and the President of the Fiji Law Society ever sees the light of day.
Charlie Charters is the front man of this grubby exercise in derailing the Supreme Court Commission of Inquiry into the Malimali Affair and ensuring that those cited in the COI Report are never brought to justice. Just as he has waged a grubby campaign over several years to smear the DPP, Christopher Pryde, for pursuing his late mother-in-law, Mere Samisoni, when a police record of interview exists in which she confessed to being part of a plot to burn down Suva.
So what are the precise accusations against David Ashton-Lewis? We don’t yet know. But it evidently relates to an issue that Charlie Charters has been banging on about on social media for some time – that the Supreme Court Judge has been using the honorific “SC” – Senior Counsel – when he isn’t entitled to do so.
Justice Ashton-Lewis has responded that he was granted the right to use the honorific in Papua New Guinea by a former Chief Justice. But at the JSC, Salesi Temo and Tomasi Bainivalu – acting on a complaint from Charlie Charters – have accused the Judge of fraudulently obtaining a Supreme Court position in Fiji on a false qualification and have referred the matter to the police.
So what do we think about all of this, Fiji? In the one corner, a Judge who has made adverse findings against Temo, Bainivalu, Clarke (and a host of others). And in the other, those who have had those findings made against them fighting back and trying to destroy the credibility of the Judge with unproven allegations made by Charlie Charters, doubtless with a great deal of input from the others.
We don’t yet know where this is going but wherever it goes, the whole thing stinks.
- The evidence against Salesi Temo, Tomasi Bainivalu and Wylie Clarke is laid out in extraordinary detail in the COI Report and is based on a FICAC recording, not the “hearsay” that the COI’s detractors keep citing to try to degrade the process.
- There is 681 pages of evidence and findings that are currently before the police and FICAC for further investigation and possible charges.
- Those mentioned adversely in the case of Temo, Bainivalu and Charlie’s little mate, Wylie, are now trying to denigrate the judge.
Well they would, wouldn’t they? And unfortunately we know that the criminal justice system in Fiji has been so corrupted that there’s a better than even chance of them succeeding.
If the Commission of Inquiry goes nowhere – and it now looks very much as if that is precisely what is happening – a great deal of blame will rest with Charlie Charters, who did a job on Christopher Pryde and is now doing another job on David Ashton-Lewis and Janet Mason.
“White Mischief “doesn’t even begin to describe the conduct of someone trying to bring down a judicial inquiry vital to the preservation of the rule of law in Fiji and integrity in public life.
The man is a disgrace.
POSTSCRIPT:
Now why would all of this be in the Fiji Sun and not in the Fiji TImes, where Charlie Charters has mounted a big part of his campaign?
Think about it, Fiji.
None of Richard Naidu’s fingerprints, perchance?
The term “Running Dog”, comes to mind.
Spot on Davis, the article demonstrates corruption at the highest level – can I add, the technicality which saved Mere from going to prison is the same which saved sex pest Pramesh Sharma from getting prosecuted for his sex allegations. That doesn’t mean that both didn’t commit the crimes – Mere will forever be known as the chief instigator of burning Suva down while Pramesh will never shake off his PUSSY GRABBER tag – both guilty as charged.
Just like all the political clowns in Fiji, from the corrupt to the sex and drugs peddlers, this idiot is another who thinks he is untouchable.
Charlie the clown thinks that his shit doesn’t smell like Goofy dim brain Manoa, Queen Temo, Poopoo Parkinson, Stanley dickhead Simpson, Fred no balls Wesley, Vijay I ate the cafeteria Narayan, Richard Long nose Naidu, Lynda Sex Queen Tabooya, Pramesh Sex pest Sharma, Ajay I speak through my butt hole Amrit Bhai, Wylie Chor Clerk, Charan Jatu Singh, Shailendra Poo Poo face Raj who, Ben Combo Kush, Beeman Maha Chor Prasad, Bill the not model father/grandfather Govoka, Nitya Blackie Reddy, Hairy Ball Punja, the entire corrupt imbecile Motibhai clan, the corrupt unqualified oversized DDP, the lasu lasu bewildered Miltary man, the wannabe oversized queen CumCumeither, the wilting aging Snake Buka, and the list goes on.
Watch your back, karma coming for you all – tick tock tick tock aawe …
Your list is comprehensive. Let me add Kishti “give me a Fiji govt job for my taulo line economic predictions” Sen, PhD but advise at the old Fiji Junior certificate levels to please Manoa and Batman.
Isa, my vulagi idols, heroes, champions, stars, models and so on, from my high school days. Namely, Richard Naidu, Charlie Charters, Wylie Clarke and William Parkinson. And for the sake of gender balance, at least Imrana Jalal, Shamima Ali, Nazhat Shameem and Jenny Seeto would be on the list too.
Anyway, all four men wrote and spoke articulately, advocated and actually preached and practised great leadership, governance, accountability, transparency, and adherence to law and order. I never ever expected them to one day become turncoats.
Tamani big lesson to learn there just as I myself had fallen for and was deceived by Rabuka’s super refreshing PAP launch address in Nawaka that was filled with promises many of us simply wanted fulfilled in the most efficient manner ASAP. To ensure our “Onward March Together, God Bless Fiji” as leadership and governance under the previous regime nosedived and deteriorated.
Who then can we now trust to vote for in 2026 (or 2029!) so that those noble aspirations underlined in our national anthem are realized?
Four way fight to play Epstein in Fiji TVs local movie adaptation of Jefferies life – Pramesh Sharma, Justice Temo, Fijis president and Biman prasad – all 4 CVs look good but Pramesh and Biman have the edge based on creepy looks required for the main part.
Charlie Chatterbox, Vijay Narayan and Stanley Simpson fighting to play Ms Maxwell (all qualified as cheerleaders ). Lynda Tabyua is pissed off that she wasn’t considered for Epstein so FICAC compliant made and Charan Jeet Singh is guaranteed a role as Epstein’s guest – William Parkinson has volunteered his services free as Poo Diddy. Movie director being sort so any ideas welcome.
Make Lynda or Rob directors – they know how to make videos and movies – also don’t forget Aseri as chief guest at Jeffrey’s party – Fiji’s president can play Prince Andrew while Charlie Charters can be the double for Epstein – there is always room for a spare dick head.
Charlie charters is an idiot who has been given a free hand by those in power to cause a muck. When put to him to find legal errors on the COI report. He cannot, yet he claims he legal critiqued section 3 of the election act. He should look at himself, but of course when someone is given that importance to lodge fraudulent complaints against the Judge- what more could happen?
When you can’t play the ball you play the man.
The thing is that once you do this everyone knows what you are doing and why.
He’s a piece of shit with an Agenda to perpetuate the same corrupt, nepotistic, elitist, misogynistic culture that currently exists in Fiji and probably always will.
Grubby grubby yellow journalist. End of the day…status quo reigns and after Friday SC judgement will entrench the ethnocracy and ensure serfdom for the captive Itaukei in villages, islands and slums of Fiji.
Meanwhile us RA2s will swill with the pigs and guarantee political power to our godsend Rambuke and his tray of scandalous privies.
Today’s FB pages of Fiji Times, Imrana Jalal and Shailen Gopal Raju are talking about the Supreme Court ruling on Friday – they telling people to get ready for change – what do these people know that others don’t?
Ms Jalal is saying the ruling will be binding while Mr Raju is saying accept the fact it will recommend change which is needed (which he supports) – both better ask Modi for their Indian passport shortly even if you are married to iTaukei or have family linage – you will “ go back to India” or Pakistan once Temo grants the changes – just like Raju who supported Rabuka in 2022 and is irrelevant and unemployed now in fiji while Imrana and her husband have backed the wrong crocodile ( Manoa) so not many favours coming – shame on you people.
If they are party to ending the common and equal citizenry and common identity then a pox on them and all who support the notion.
And to think that Imrana Jalal publicly expressed the view that Salesi Temo wasn’t fit to be Chief Justice!
Someone who clearly doesn’t seem to have a problem with indigenous supremacy as long as she benefits through her husband and his connections.
I once heard her tell a roomful of people during the Qarase years. “Saki is going to be prime minister and I am going to be attorney general”. Cross my heart and hope to die. The God-honest truth.
She is just keeping it in the family, as is the thinking of all those who live in Third World, third rate countries.
All these elites are the same. Parasites.
Crying Kiran, Sobbing Sashi or Saint Sashi – take your pick- is advising welfare recipients to earn own income. This sounded ok if not for the pay rise for parliamentarians. So it’s ok for MPs to get a huge pay rise but poor people have to earn own income.
She is no saint. She is a hypocrite.
Mark my words she will jump ship for next election as her party NFP has no chance of winning under the traitor leader Biman.
https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/ministry-encourages-welfare-recipients-to-earn-own-income/
Sad that you can’t realise the bigger picture for what is happening here. As the Minister for Social Welfare, she is definitely trying to get people to earn extra money to give them a sense of dignity.
Do you know that person struggles to have a decent living with the amount that is received from Social Welfare and earning a decent income apart from welfare is a good thing?
They have set up free training to equip welfare recipients to run their own businesses and this should be commended.
I am certainly not a NFP supporter but c’mon….give credit where credit is due.
Good one Graham. Interesting that the “natural justice system” referred to by the PM does not appear to apply to Justice Ashton-Lewis who has had the matter referred to the police without being given the opportunity to respond to the JSC!.
Those Arabic Nations like Qatar do not entertain poseurs like Charlie Charters. Report him and see the fun.
The Englishman wants us to believe that the COI should be rendered inadmissible because of Judge Ashton-Lewis and Janet Mason’s out of court indiscretions.
Charlie uses his words skilfully to divert public attention away from the fact that Ashton-Lewis and Mason’s indiscretions have NOT rendered the duo unfit to adjudicate or practice in perpetuity.
Perhaps Charlie should be reminded about how John RABUKU’S indiscretions have rendered him unfit for the position he currently holds.
Charlie argues like a jester – loud enough to amuse but never wise enough to be heeded. Waiting for Charlie to grow a pair of objective balls and put his pen to good use and highlight how RABUKU’S cases and convictions need to be invalidated because he was found guilty of professional misconductt, effectively rendering RABUKA unfit to hold office.
Until then, Charlie is just a f@&king jester.
AND KUDOS TO YOU GRAHAM.
Apart from the crooning nancy boy stallion, there are several other ‘lawyers’ with black marks of misconduct who are not fit to hold office and must no longer be in their jobs: chief registrar, lands minister, porn queen, justice baboon, plank head ‘constitutional expert’ valenitabua.
These people are talentless, ignorant, dishonest, opportunist ass-lickers devoid of a moral compass. History will condemn these people in due course. We can only hope the vandalism can be repaired.
Wait a minute…. Didn’t Bainivalu just stop Alex Forwood from raising a complaint because she’s not based in Fiji? Should the same then apply to old mate Charlie Charters?
‘Nothing changes……….i know I was in the thick of it.
As they say, follow the money: Dogla Baiman appointed fellow NFP party member Ritchie Rich as fiscal review committee chairperson. Ritchie Rich is a lawyer with no finance or economics background.
Baiman also appointed his squeeze Kirti Patel on the committee. Kirti is a library clerk with no financial or economic background whatsoever.
You get the drift?
By stacking the fiscal review committee with his cronies and his ‘someone special’, Baiman got his 15% vat increase. In return a client of Richie Rich’s law firm, Fiji Water, got their notorious exemption for seven years.
Munro Leys would have made a tidy sum from that deal, as well as from the Aspen hospital contract, thanks to Baiman’s influence.
This is how corrupt the NFP cabal is.
It was the 15% vat that subsidized the Fiji Water tax exemption and also the pay increase for MPs. What Baiman did was penalize the poor to reward the rich. By doing this, the bastard from Babasiga confirmed the NFP position as a party for rich elites masquerading as representing Indians and the poor people of Fiji.
Baiman also cemented his reputation as a greedy self serving bastard of the highest order.
The bottom line is that Richard owes Biman a favor, which is why he is trying to save him, through Wiley.
This is how they are taking this country and its citizens for a ride.
As for why Charlie Charters is going to such great lengths to discredit COI, it’s probably revenge for the madrai queen, who during the 2000 coup was known as the female George Speight; neediness and clinginess, so going out of his way to prove his friendship and loyalty to Wiley Clark; and of course the good old white savior mentality. As you can see Charlie Boy needs professional help and counseling.
Let’s hope that the military is aware and also the People’s Alliance Party if their coalition partner NFP’s dalliances, since Rabuka is too keep track, especially with Richard Naidu and Baiman moving with dizzying speed for the kill, leaving us all flabbergasted and wrong-footed.
Charlie can simp over Ashton all he likes and try to divert attention of Fijians. But don’t forget, ordinary bakers in his business cannot take a luxurious destination vacation to Europe or other places. Also, white long loaf finishes before his climaxes at the thought of Ashton.
It’s never a good idea to try to impugn and smear a judge. Charlie made a fool of himself highlighting the judge’s SC credentials from PNG. Is he suggesting that Sir Jim Ah Koy’s PNG knighthood is also suspect? Does he look down his nose at PNG honorifics? It’s disgraceful that as a result of this Police are now investigating the CoI judge. Err, excuse me wantok, we are investigating whether this judge has a right to use this SC? Hmm.
Imrana Jalal seems to have started this latest round of unseemly denigration of judges by having a go at the current CJ’s appointment, saying he was unsuitable. Maybe just annoyed she wasn’t selected? Unwise and arrogant, and it was surprising she wasn’t hauled up over that outburst.
Instead of attacking CJ Temo Graham, the focus of attention should be on the Prime Minister. He has the authority to deal with both the President and the CJ if they are out of line, especially on the constitution, which is not in their remit anyway, nor a gaggle of constitutional lawyers from other places. The proper way to make the changes to the constitution is to seek a mandate from the people. Meanwhile, and however weak and ineffective his government may be, Rabuka has the powers to also deal with these CoI matters and most importantly in the court of public opinion. If the CoI revealed more than it was supposed, bad luck, just deal with it PM by assuring the public the testimony and findings will be fully investigated, and the results become known.
On the face of it, the shenanigans at FICAC and ODDP appear to be interconnected with one objective: keep our lot in power and the others out. Oh dear, Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall and all the kings horses and all the kings men couldn’t put Humpty back together again. But it is what it is, all laid out in black and white and the people would like to know the outcome of investigations. If there is no substance to what was alleged under oath in the CoI, then let’s hear about it. The public have a right to not only have justice done, but also have it seen to be done.
Therefore the all eyes should be on Rabuka and the fourth estate need to keep questioning him on what has happened. Otherwise, he, his government and the administrators of justice will have lost integrity in the eyes of the people – an essential requirement of high offices. Having a go at the judge is just a red herring.
Gauna vinaka says: Isa poor Charlie should spend his time being more productive. Perhaps he could find a non manual way to insert that fluffy cream into his step mum’s famous long loaf.
Is it Charlie (the Parrot) that Late Sir Winston Churchill owned once who always cursed the Germans. Or Is it Charlie (Chaplin) Charters who wants to amuse everyone or just a “goose”