FACT: At 3.30PM on Monday December 23, 2024 – nine days ago today – the Tribunal judges hearing the charge of misbehaviour against the suspended DPP, Christopher Pryde, presented their findings to the President, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu.
FACT: The Constitution – the supreme law – stipulates that those findings must be made public and that if the charge of misbehaviour has not been established that the suspension must be lifted. It is not optional but the L-A-W.
FACT: As Grubsheet reported three days ago – on December 29 – Christopher Pryde has been exonerated. Citing “an impeccable legal source”, we said the Tribunal judges led by Justice Anare Tuilevuka had found that the allegation of misbehaviour against the DPP had not been proven.
FACT: Yesterday, eight days after the Tribunal reported to the President, Christopher Pryde understandably grew impatient with the delay in hearing his fate and wrote to the President asking him to provide him with a copy of the Tribunal findings, release their report as the law requires and in line with their recommendation, lift his suspension and reinstate him. He released that letter to the media.
FACT: After having been silent for eight days, the President didn’t respond to the contents of Christopher Pryde’s letter. Instead, he issued a media statement saying that he was seeking advice on the finding. What advice and from whom? The Constitution is unambiguous. The President must comply with the recommendations of the Tribunal. He doesn’t need advice. He needs to comply with the law.
PRESUMPTION BASED ON FACT: That having not obtained a finding of guilty against the DPP, the State is dragging its heels and examining ways that it can get rid of him despite the Tribunal’s findings.
The great stitch-up is on. And watch as the Coalition government and its stooges in the offices of state follow the lead of their predecessors in FijiFirst in ignoring the Constitution and doing what they want anyway – to terminate the DPP.
It will be precisely what Frank Bainimarama and Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum did to the former solicitor general, Sharvada Sharma, when they ignored the Constitutional requirement to set up a Tribunal in his case and simply threw him onto the street. A judge later awarded Sharvada Sharma more than $3-million in compensation for unfair dismissal. And it is this government – the Coalition – that is refusing to pay it.
So, Fiji. Having come to power promising us better governance – which axiomatically means compliance with the rule of law – this government is no better than its predecessor. And as happened when unconstitutional appointments were made to the offices of state, the world is getting a salutary lesson that no-one can depend on the rule of law being upheld in Fiji.
Who would want to invest in such a country, to put themselves at the mercy of institutions that bend to the political will of the government of the day? Who would want to live in such a country where if you fall foul of the state, the state always wins?
This is the government of Sitiveni Rabuka, his Attorney General, Graham Leung, the Justice Minister, Siromi Turaga, the roque Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, and the pedophile and convicted criminal at the apex of the state, the President, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu.
We cannot be surprised that having been jailed for his part in the 2000 mutiny and having been accused of impregnating a 15-year old girl, that Ratu Naiqama again has no compunction in thumbing his nose at the law. But let’s not pretend that we live in anything but a jungle in Fiji because that is the prevailing order – the law of the jungle.
Nine days ago, the President could have released the photo of him receiving the Pryde Tribunal Report on the afternoon of December 23. But he sat on that just as he is now sitting on the Report itself. Only when the media started to ask questions about Christopher Pryde’s letter did anything happen at all – the release of the photo and the President’s astonishing statement that he was seeking advice on the Tribunal’s finding.
You can bet your last saqamoli, Fiji, that if the Tribunal had pronounced Christopher Pryde guilty that the news would have been released immediately and the DPP cut loose on Christmas Eve. This delay tells us that Grubsheet’s story is right. Christopher Pryde has been exonerated but the state is now doing everything possible to make sure he goes anyway.
This is no country for white men – to paraphrase the movie title – and no country for anyone who wants their children to grow up in a place where the institutions of state are strong and there is unquestioning compliance with the rule of law.
Oh, and no country for anyone who expects a supposedly “free” media to hold the governing elite to account. Today’s coverage of this scandal is the usual supine, third- rate effort bereft of proper analysis, including the Fiji Times reporting this:..
…when the President actually said this:
Hopeless.
Fortunately, it isn’t just the toothless watchdogs of the Fijian media looking on.
This is the top story this morning on Radio New Zealand’s Pacific News. So NZ and the region are watching.
What the President told the media yesterday.
In response to the letter Christopher Pryde sent to the President and the media.
UPDATE: WEDNESDAY PM.
Too many of the people who govern us are not only malevolent but thick as pig shit.
Take the domestic violence abuser and SODELPA leader, Aseri Radrodro – the hero of Room 233 who gave Lynda Tabuya a “brutal” rogering and before that, beat his former wife, the Prime Minister’s daughter, to within an inch of her life but still managed to wind up as the Coalition’s Minister for Education.
I’ll spare you the banality, unoriginality and cant of Radrodro’s “New Year message” – reported by Fiji Live – but there’s a gem in there that at least proves Aseri Radrodro’s talents as a comedian.
Keepeth the law? This man almost killed his former wife and left her for dead but was never prosecuted because she declined to press charges. And the government of which he is part routinely flouts the law, as it is doing with the Pryde matter.
No sense of irony and no shame. A disgraceful individual with the future of Fiji’s young people in his bloodied hands in a disgraceful government whose days are numbered as the Fijian people gradually realise that they are a bunch of self-serving hypocrites who preach one thing and practice another.
Unbelievable cheek.
NOTE:
Happy New Year to all my readers! Some very kind things have been written in the comments section that are much appreciated.
Here’s to a better 2025.
Happy New Year GD. Best wishes and hoping for a better 2025.
Welcome to the Banana Republic of Fiji!!
Rest assured that if the ethnicity of Kumar and Pryde was slightly different, the situation would be polar opposite to the current. For this quick transition back into the dark ages, we have the enablers, particularly Richard, Biman, Nilesh, Adish and the like to thank for.
2026 can’t come quick enough but the writing is on the wall – a constitutional storm is coming ROTFI’s way.
With the track record of current government and how things have unfolded, Pryde needs to start packing.
He will be asked to go home.
2013 constitution is a very difficult one .
Designed such a way that:
Rule 1.
Government is always right.
Rule 2.
Apply rule number 1
Watch the space!
Happy new year…
Happy new year Graham! Please don’t ever underestimate how grateful your many readers are for your tireless and accurate reporting. Honestly, if it wasn’t for you we would all be in the dark.
Big thanks from me and all the very best to you and your family for 2025.
Thank you Catriona. And Happy New Year to you!
The voters who put this government in place were certain to the point of fanatics that this government was the answer…. And now?
Point is don’t be fanatical about any government… not even a good government…
Fanaticism causes war.
Balance. Compromise.
Give and take.
The Bridge without Expansion Gaps will fail.
Hahaha, just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse with the Fiji news media, we find that the Fiji Times cannot even copy a press release correctly. Truly shocking! All the Fiji media editors need to go back to school.
Many wealthy countries are bringing in 2025 in style while Fiji a 3rd world country by choice of the corrupt government is pondering about how to apply jungle law to its wrongly suspended DPP.
One cannot however turn a blind eye to the lashing Mr Grubs is receiving from a convicted ex Suva lawyer for keeping Prydes case front and centre for justice to be done. Let us examine some observations about why this convicted ex Suva lawyer may be so anti Pryde. Could it be because he resides in a squatter settlement of Takanini one of the worst but cheap South Auckland locations to buy into. No clients, no money allegedly eh? Could it be because the ex Suva lawyer cannot return to Fiji given a straight transfer to Naboro from the airport is the most likely outcome. Did the ex Suva lawyer get convicted during Pryde’s rein as DPP. Or is the ex Suva lawyer a plain racist against whites and expats holding any position of authority in Fiji. One only has to see this was on display in his Facebook postings when Ben Gollings was Fiji sevens coach.
Oh well, if democracy has to prevail, we need to hear the views of convicts as well as credible clean right minded people.
Whatever the case may be justice needs to prevail over jungle law at the displeasure of the Child molesting President, the corrupt racist PM and the convicted ex Suva Lawyer.
He is overtly racist and anti-white and always has been. Which is ironic when he lives in a mostly white society and has been given refuge by whites. And a double irony when he is “vulagi” in Fiji and in indigenous eyes, has the same status as any kai valagi. Any criticism of me is like being savaged by a limp paratha.
That hypocrite kaindia lawyer in Takanini, Auckland. He should have migrated not to NZ but perhaps India or Pakistan or Bangladesh.
But in Takanini him and others that immigrated there from their own societies that these migrants escaped from ” for a better life ” are trying their hardest to make Takanini like the very place they escaped from! Hypocrites and stupid.
Just like making Britain into Birmingham. Making a hole in the pot one cooks their dinner in.
Morning GD,
Happy new year mate!
Thanks again for your informed articles as always and keep it coming as the electorate needs to be informed and educated.
Memo to the pm:
I’ve seen your new years message and following is my message to you:
Life always has it’s challenges and it is how we respond to it that determines our values.
For you as the pm, it’s pretty simple…uphold the rule of law, honesty, integrity and equality.
Remember, fish smells from the head.
Vinaka.
Well at the least Mr Pryde saved himself the considerable expense of hiring and paying for a top lawyer in Fiji, after he lost his income.
And as seen so far, paying for the most expensive lawyer in Fiji still would not have got him justice!
If the tribunal as conjured, determined in Mr Pryde’s favour without him having a defence lawyer representative it shows how straightforward the case was (in hindsight). The stupidity of the prosecutions case may even have assisted Mr Pryde’s case.
An adder to my previous message Mr PM….
Be as good in your actions as you portray in your words.
It is this that defines one’s legacy!!!
If Christopher Pryde had been found guilty of misconduct the speed with which the grubby President would have acted would have been breathtaking!
But no he, the senile PM and the incompetent CJ have been found out! Clearly the Tribunal has exonerated Christopher Pryde and now they delay (how do they save face).
Now we need everyone, including the diplomatic community, to demand the report be published and the reinstatement of Pryde as the DPP!
Happy New Year GD.
Thank you for all the factual spot on news!!. You have been amazing with your facts and figures on hand.
For Mr Pryde’s case, let’s hope and pray that common sense will prevail.
Cheers to 2025!!
Happy new year GD.
Reading through the various comments, I can’t help agreeing that Pryde will not set foot in his office again.
The government will not allow him to return as the DPP because he is not one of them. In fact, there will be a renewed attempt to offer him a generous payout if he chooses to resign and leave the country.
This tribunal has done one important thing though, apart from agreeing that Pryde is not guilty – it has shown that Justice Tuilevuka should have really been appointed as the Chief Justice as opposed to grumpy dumpy Temo.
Justice Tuilevuka has given the government and Temo the finger by upholding the law correctly, based on the evidence which was provided to the tribunal. Unfortunately it has made him a pariah as Temo will seek vengeance as he had hoped the tribunal would simply be a whitewash and boot Pryde out.
Let us wait through January as people are away on leave and the pedophile President scrambles to find some excuse to sack Pryde. Or, he may just grow a pair and just give the bloke back his job.
The only reason this government will follow the rules of the law is when an i taukei is to benefit. Indians, the white man, excluding RS as he’s possibly a protected species.
So there we go Fiji. And don’t expect a comprehensive response from Rabuka. He’ll scratch his bald head and say, “not my prerogative”, or, “not my jurisdiction”.
This is the lame excuse we get all the time from this idiot a PM. Pass the buck as he complains that he’s over worked.
Pathetic!!!
After viewing the PM playing the harmonica at his paper strewn desk as his New Years greeting to the nation, it all makes sense. What an idiot.
This is not the first time Fiji Times has used words to hide true meaning of constitutional quotes. Thay have a habit of adding a “not” to show the opposite meaning of the clause of constitution. This has happened at least twice before in the last month.
Times will survive as long as Rambo is the PM.
They have reached the gutter level of journalism. Media freeeedom?
No amount of protest ,signatures,letters,comments from experts or any other will change things.
This is in front of us ,when how people have been appointed to very important positions.
Just like the one last week when we have CJ’s position cemented.
Mali°2 is still Commissioner of FICAC.
Nothing changed.
Same as Bai and Kai made appointments and rulings.
Hunter was put on a plane,VC was put on plane .
Statistics guy was dragged out.
Many others one can remember.
Pryde will be found guilty, 110 percent.
Immigration minister will cancel his visa status.
He will be given 24 hours to leave the country.
Fiji has gone back to square one from where we started after 2006,except we can’t see guns around.
Mark my word!
You are a dropkick!
If Pryde had been found guilty it would have already been announced, and the Fiji Times would have had it on the Front Page in bold letters!
You don’t even know that Pryde is not in Fiji!
Go back to your Kava bowl!
The worst PM ever in the world. “nobody informed me, nobody reported it yet, not my jurisdiction, not in my job description, I haven’t seen it yet”. OMG! what else.
He should concede he is a racist and does not like vulagis. After the coup in 1987 he made the comment that all problems in Fiji will be over once the Indo_Fijian population becomes less than 35%. The Fiji Times archives of May 1987 will confirm.
Now the population on racial lines is about that. It took you 37 years but you have achieved your objectives. You are back as PM. You are scratching your head late night and doing whatever you wish. One can see the deterioration of farming sector and urbanisation in the last 37 years. It is sad to know how the itaukei people are brainwashed and made to suffer. There will be no unity or harmony as long as you are around!
God Save the Country!
Not that demonstrable fcukwits were forced to provide unmistakable and sustained examples of idiocy, Fiji excelled anyway in 2024.
The drunk sugar daddy let the cat out of the bag in NZ to tell the world Fijians go to CWM hospital to die. The bastard.
Junglee Biman said “you come alone eh.” Heh heh.
The speaker of the house threw a hissy as he told-off an MP to go back to where he came from if he didn’t like Fiji.
As earlier noted, the Senile Snake PM’s effort inluded these gems:
“nobody informed me;
nobody reported it yet;
Not my jurisdiction;
not in my job description, and,
“I haven’t seen it yet”.
Use it or lose it.
And: I’m too old for this job.
The AG, determined as he always is, didn’t want to be outdone, added a prop -a classy hat to be precise as he wisely and brazenly stuck to the idiocy theme, and intoned:
Some of the complaints, for example, have and do relate to trust account breaches or defalcations, practicing without a valid PC, conflicts of interest, overcharging, acting without instructions, etc.”
And no, he was not trying to be ironic, nor was he not talking about lawyers in goverment, but the ones in private practice who were wet behind the ears.
Not waiting for the ink to dry, the hatman was quickly joined by none other
than the genius dumb and dumber pee pee (a.k.a.D/DPP) who crooned/crowed “without you, what would I do with me…”
The wiser GB readers refused to suggest what exactly he might do…
Wait, there’s more. As the former DPP and now ddpp crooned/crowed his assistant the actual DPP drunkenly shifted and squirmed on her bum as if caught in a bad case of ciqi, all the action was on video too.
Anyhoo, that didn’t stop the ddpp who was then DPP (try to keep up, goddammit) from going further, to say to Elizabeth “You’re white, you’re fired!”
And then the dpp then now ddpp got fired himself by president humpty dumpty — not to be confused by the current president pedo. Sheesh.
The bonkers Minister for Weed n Bonking wjo couldn’t decide between brutal or gentle in room #233, decided rather more emphatically to go all out and exert herself starring in her own pornographic video-again. And, to maintain the highest levels of sustained idiocy, smartly cut out the middleman (and the milkman) to distribute her own production. Smart one, she is.
Even the NGO idiots wanted to contribute their brand of idioc, as Shame-ima said to RNZ:
“Fiji Womens Crises Centre coordinator Shamima Ali believed the coalition government wanted to get rid of the successful populist because she was a threat to Rabuka’s leadership.” Jaysus!.
Speaking from Mars, she continued “while many suspect this could be the end of her (Lynda’s) political career, Ali disagreed: “She is clever, popular and has money, she’ll be back.” she said.
Hang on, Shame-mima wasn’t done yet:
“Her phone was stolen and hacked and she has been systematically maligned by various people since then.”
Anding: “Look, she may have been careless, but she is smart, flamboyant and strong and even had Rabuka’s ear,” she said.
No Shit.
Speaking of which, not that more proof was required that Fiji is full of shit, reports from Nadi said the place is full of shit (feces, they called it.) And no, were not making any of this up. The retirees will be pissed on their early morning walks.
Maintaining that idiocy is best policy, as people spent christmas in evacuation centers in feces town, the Senile Snake PM went on a tour of the north to inspect the Chinese wallets, eagle-eyed for a few crumbs to fall out.
That fella born in Bethlehem has nothing on Fiji when it comes to weeping – Imrana and Chutney Sashi proved more than worthy contenders.
Between weeping, hugging criminals in the TRC sham and apologizing for indentured laborers (the settler community) the Minister for Chutney even found time to praise her Weed n Bonking predecessor:
“At the outset, I wish to acknowledge my predecessor honourable Lynda Tabuya for her dedication and contributions to this vital ministry,” said Ms Kiran.
No, no, Kiran was not refering to Lynda’s movie making talent, no matter how big the elephant in the room was:
“Her leadership has laid a foundation upon which we will continue to build. The journey to empower women, protect children and uplift the most vulnerable in our society is not the work of one individual but a collective effort sustained over time.” And Chutney didn’t mention any child abuse videos.
FICAC, CJ, Justice and media will take up too much space here.
Try to stay away from brawls.
Cheers! Peace and Goodwill in 2025.
Who else.?
They become a piece of sh,*&iht after consuming alcohol .
https://www.fijivillage.com/sports/Fijian-rugby-players-in-Pro-D2-handed-suspended-sentence-for-assault-in-France-48f5rx/
Happy New Year GD.
Thanks for the updates.
Keep everyone on their toes and honest.
Happy New Year to all!
A good start to the year with your insightful article.
Let’s keep the pressure on and highlight all the misdeeds of the Coalition government and its stooges – their incompetence, failure to address pressing national issues, blatant disregard for peoples welfare and safety, neglect of law and order and an incompetent Judiciary that undermines trust in the justice system.
Let’s continue to expose and hold them accountable for their incompetence and corruptions and scandals. We should not rely on the lame Fiji Media.
Best for 2025.
I fail to understand, year in and year out, politicians ,church ministers and few wanna be high profile holy,holy people asking for unity.
Every new year
“Unity”
What for?
Follow the rule of law and and we will not require unity.
Have a constitution that guarantees equal rights and citizenship and we will not need any unity.
Protect each and every citizen and we will not require unity.
That’s the way forward.
Unity calling is a farce.
Agree. A very perceptive observation. They preach unity even as they agitate to make some Fijians more equal than others. As if the rest of us should unite behind their attempt to constitutionally disadvantage us. Eff off.
Yes GD
Unity is a camouflage.
A smoke screen to protect them.
Get the governments act right and we don’t need unity.
Food for poor.
Clean treated water .
Better roads.
Better health facilities.
Education for all.
Candidates chosen on merit and not by skin color or race .
The most important of all,Law and order.
Fundamental principle a country is built upon.
Rabuka always talks about healing and unity when he is the reason for spreading disunity and hurt. His New Year’s message is a rhetoric that we have heard before.
He has been saying this since he came into power and even before that as well. He is least bothered about the suffering ordinary people are going through.
Fijians are no longer trusting the leaders in power – thanks to the lies spread by Rabuka and his government. The main culprit is his Minister for Finance, Biman Prasad, who escaped being charged by FICAC, with the assistance of the unprecedented intervention of his lawyer Richard Naidu, who himself got let off by high court even before being sentenced.
Laws have been interpreted in a way that the Coalition government wanted to keep its politicians and appeasers out of jail.
Rabuka should stop talking about unity and healing. Rabuka’s exit from politics may bring unity and healing. He and the likes of Naiqama, Temo, Siromi, Leung, and their stooges who thrive on race politics and i-taukei supremacy should be boycotted.
Politicians wishing happy new year to Fijians.
What’s there to be happy about? A rats ass government. A pornstar running around wild in parliament. A pedophile comander in chief.
Or the sky high cost of living. The highest crime rate and burglaries ever. The highest number of road accidents. The highest corruption rate in the civil service.
The pot holes on the road. The rubbish on our streets or the beaches. The drugs our children are addicted to.
What is there to be happy about? Definitely there’s one thing, the pay rise of the most incompetent bunch of donkeys in Fiji is certainly something to be happy about.
Just think about it. Would the pedo president still be waiting for consultation if the verdict was the other way round?
F**king donkey.
A part of the lame PMs address was his comments that 2025 was going to be a special year.
Special for what exactly PM?
1. Are you going to start leading as a PM should?
2. Are you going to review all the nepotistic appointments you have made over the past few years in office?
3. Are you going to do justice for Mr Pryde? Reinstate and actually give him the space and opportunity to clean house at the judiciary?
4. Are you going to get rid of those ministers who are under FICAC investigation? Or at least stop the protection racket that your government is currently running?
5. Are you going to honestly, cross your heart, kiss the ground that you will the absolute truth and nothing but the truth about your involvement and roles in the previous coups in Fiji?
Until you can TRC these questions please stop fooling the public by using such fanciful and misleading words to con the people of Fiji.
There will be nothing special in 2025 as long as you and your immoral bunch of cronies remain in office.
Mr Pryde’s early retirement is just around the corner. The loss of earnings for the past and future years plus the damage to reputation and character will be enormous that Fijian government will have to pay. It was a fruitful wait for Mr Pryde, congratulations.