It has now been more than 13 months since Siromi Turaga and the man he and Sitiveni Rabuka handpicked to be Acting Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, suspended the DPP, Christopher Pryde, for alleged misbehaviour. And still they have failed to fulfil their constitutional duty to hold a judicial tribunal hearing into the allegation that Christopher Pryde “misbehaved” by being photographed at a Japanese Embassy function with Siromi Turaga’s ousted predecessor, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
It is an appalling injustice that Pryde has been sidelined for so long without being able to defend himself and an insult to the Fijian taxpayer that he continues to receive a full salary, along with the man who is acting in his job, the illegal Acting DPP, John Rabuku. How long is this madness going to go on?
Yet not content with denying Christopher Pryde justice, the chief law officer of the state has used the protection of parliamentary privilege to defame him – claiming that he presided over a “toxic work environment” and a “stifling management culture” in which some prosecutors got more work than others and “local prosecutors” were “shackled” and were unable to rise beyond the level of principal legal officer.
It doesn’t take a brilliant legal mind to realise that some cases such as fraud are highly complex and need to be allocated to high-level specialists and others such as rape and assault can be handled by those with fewer skills and experience. But as we are not talking about a brilliant legal mind in the case of Siromi Turaga, he should at least be able to appreciate the following:
1/ He talks about an “unhealthy environment (in the ODPP) before the change in leadership”. There has been no change in leadership. Christopher Pryde is still the DPP until such time as he is replaced and it is astonishingly inept, as well as unprofessional, for an Attorney General to refer to him in the past tense as if there has been a “guilty” finding against him when that is simply not the case.
2/ It is grossly unfair and prejudicial to Christopher Pryde to use the cloak of parliamentary privilege to smear him when there is no avenue for him to respond. If Siromi Turaga said any of this outside the parliament, it would be open to Christopher Pryde to sue him for defamation. But anything said in the parliament is protected.
3/ Siromi Turaga has abused parliamentary privilege by engaging in a cowardly attack on the substantive DPP when he has no way of defending himself and BEFORE the charge of misbehaviour against him has been tested by the three judges who will hear the case. It is yet another direct assault by Siromi Turaga on due process and the rule of law on top of his violations of the constitution with the unlawful appointments of John Rabuku as DPP and Alipate Qetaki as a judge.
4/ The attack on Christopher Pryde is a wilful and deliberate attempt to try to influence the outcome of the Tribunal hearing when and if it is held. It is a clear indication of what has been evident for some time – that the case against the DPP for being photographed with Turaga’s ousted predecessor in full public view before any case against Khaiyum reached his desk is highly unlikely to succeed. Siromi Turaga is clearly desperate about the possibility of Christopher Pryde being reinstated and the embarrassment that would cause, so much so that he is introducing other untested accusations into the mix.
5/ There is a veiled but clear inference in Turaga’s parliamentary statement that Christopher Pryde was discriminating against “locals”. Yet one of his front-line prosecutors, Jayneeta Prasad, was a “local”, just not an iTaukei. And we know that when Pryde was sidelined and John Rabuku took over, he removed the highly respected Assistant DPP, Elizabeth Rice, telling her it was “because she was white” and that he “wanted an iTaukei in the job”.
6/ The clear implication in all of this is that Siromi Turaga, Salesi Temo and the rest of the “new order’ want Christopher Pryde out because he is white. Never mind the word “competence” which is always studiously avoided. They want Pryde gone and the iTaukei, John Rabuku, to take Pryde’s substantive position despite the fact that the Constitution prevents it because Rabuku has been found guilty of professional misconduct. So out goes someone with an impeccable record, in comes someone who has failed the integrity test as a lawyer. Welcome to the new Fiji.
7/ It certainly isn’t about saving money. These jokers want $2-million more for the ODPP in the new budget, among other things, for “neglected conditions in divisional offices”. That wouldn’t perchance happen to include the office in Nadi where John Rabuku’s gay lover works, would it?
What’s the bet that this attack on Christopher Pryde means that Siromi Turaga and Salesi Temo are cooking up fresh allegations of “misbehaviour” against him on top of being photographed with Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum? That he throttled the careers of deserving iTaukei. Never mind that one of his deputies was the late and highly respected Mosese Korovou. The knives are out for the white man and justice has nothing to do with it.
NOTE: I have received a number of comments accusing Christopher Pryde of failing to prosecute Frank Bainimarama for his assault on Pio Tikoduadua. FACT: It happened in the parliamentary precinct outside the DPP’s jurisdiction and in line with parliamentary procedures, was dealt with by the then speaker, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau.
Grubsheet has a long-standing policy of not publishing comments that are either factually wrong or are abusive or irrelevant. And that policy stands.
It’s all about getting iTaukei into senior positions, not about the quality of the criminal justice system. And for that, Fiji will pay a very heavy price.
In response to public demands for Kemu Valetini’s inclusion in the Rugby World Cup 2023 Flying Fijians squad following his repeated match winning performances for the Fijian Drua, he did not try to justify himself but simply replied, “Follow the process”.
Wise counsel to the racist AG from an Australian born and bred iTaukei. Sadly, that will always be rejected to Fiji’s disadvantage.
Siromi Turaga, Salesi Temo and Rabuka also want to send Aiyaz Khaiyum to jail, as they have done to Bainimarama and Qiliho.The whole system is very unfair in Fiji. I wonder what the President and Commander of the Military are doing as the 2013 Constitution gives them ultimate responsibility to uphold the principles of the constitution.
I find it odd that my comment has been censored Grubsheet. So much for your commitment to “fairness” and the rule of law.
Karma has come back to those that sacked Turaqa during his term as a Nadi magistrate.
This can debated endlessly but there’s alway two sides to the story.
Vinaka from a kavalagi married to a an educated itaukei from Naitasiri.
Tinai, do you honestly think that what you wrote in the comment I decided not to publish is remotely relevant?
QUOTE: Where does a lonesome kavalagi married to itaukei for 40 years stand on all this……?
I stand for Fiji.
(But at the same time Turaga has been nothing but a gentleman to me and not greedy……don’t shoot me….) UNQUOTE
I don’t publish comments that don’t add anything to the subject at hand. But since you are upset and are accusing me of censorship, I’ll let others decide for themselves the merit of your accusation that I censored you.
This guy and people like him are maintaining an ideal “high standard” required in a Third World country. They seriously believe they are doing an excellent job. They know no better. So it is all up to the blessed people of Fiji what they do next.
What is wrong with lawyers in Fiji?
Conflicts of interest. Selling out the country. Failing to uphold the Rule of Law. Blaming other races? Tax holidays?
How did it get to this?
Is it just me or does it seem good governance has been lobbed out the window?
Fair enough GD. Whatever your readers view and yours seem very much against Turaqa and Naitisiri.
As I said, two sides to every story. The removal of Turaqa as a Nadi magistrate is a case in point.
The people comment on here appear to be mainly Kavalagi or Indian. The itaukei have strong of view but mostly don’t comment
Vinaka.
Where is my comment about DPP Pryde returning Police file about Bainimarama assaulting Tikoduadua
You have to be fair GD ???
This was another major reason why he was sidelined
“Tailevu”, can’t you read. I have said that it is false information. The assault took place in the parliamentary precinct and the DPP did not have jurisdiction to deal with it. It was dealt with by the then speaker of the parliament, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau. If you’ll remember, he required both of them to apologise but Tikoduadua refused to do so and was barred from the parliament for a time.
It had nothing whatsoever to do with Christopher Pryde. He had no authority to prosecute Bainimarama. So to hold him to account is just plain wrong.
Camera’s caught that assault not inside the parliament, but outside
If you look at that footage again, there were some civilians passing by and also cars too
That was a public area
For the privileges committee thing circus , it was a cover up to save Bainimarama.
Tikoduadua did the right thing of not apologizing
Today Bainimarama is inside and Tiko is outside
Karma is a bastard
Jesus wept. It was in front of the parliament and was officially designated as being within the parliamentary precinct. Why is Christopher Pryde responsible when the Speaker says ” that’s our territory, butt out”. What is he meant to do? Barge down there and risk being in contempt of the parliament? This is a non issue. Correspondence closed.
What I’ve seen in this government is that the itaukei brothers and sisters have the first preference to jobs in government departments whether their grades are average or below average and regardless of whether they’ve had any experience in that work field. Some of us have sacrficed our bodies, our chance to have a family, our needs with long sleepless nights, topped our university batches with highest GPA and yet we never even get shortlisted for a job test or interview. I have seen this first hand of some itaukei getting good jobs in reputable organisations such as ODPP, Legal Aid, Ministrial bodies and AG’s Office. To top that, the private sectors have now started to take advantage of this desperate situation by offering way less than what is expected of them to pay for certain professions. It’s very sad as we get robbed by this biased government in the form of pure racism.
Biase is everywhere around the world. 40 years ago there was a huge imbalance and the itaukei found it very difficult to get ahead. And then they started to. We have the brains. Fiji Airways case in point. The amount of itaukei tech crew (pilots) and cabin crew is FABULOUS. We do not need the expats/kavalagi to show the way any more than any other carrier. If we can sort through our judicial system and place itaukei competently in high level roles then so be it.
Sweat and tears to break through the glass ceiling takes time and tenacity. My husband is a case in point. It takes years of being overlooked by colour or “a weird name”. Eventually you break through.
WHY shouldn’t itaukei or a percentage of -be given jobs. If it’s fine to do it in other countries for their indigenous peoples, why not Fiji! Of course we have the skills. If not, make further education possible. My husband did it the hard way starting uni overseas. No scholarships, no freebies -just sheer hard work. And it paid off after 30 plus years. But he got there despite racism!!! Turaqa’s removal as a Nadi magistrate-as I said -karma bites back. Personally, I find him kind, generous and ethical. And as itaukei don’t comment, I will. Please stop slagging off about Naistasiri. We have historically always “poked the bear” and always will.
Whilst I’m at it, the fact is the “vulagi” think, THINK, they are a superior being to the itaukei.
If I hear one more old colonial family call our Itaukei “Fikis”……just who the heck do these people think they are? Fikis??? No. They are the itaukei and will not be looked down upon by this so called elite minority who prestige is finally being eroded. (Prestige in their own minds)!