Grubsheet returns from medical leave temporarily with a sensational story – conclusive evidence that the RFMF Commander, Major General Ro Jone Kalouniwai, is a proven liar who has tried to cover-up the killing of a detainee in military custody and in doing so, is unfit to head the nation’s military and must resign or be sacked.
The fact that the person killed – Jone Vakarisi – is an accused drug overlord who allegedly tried to break into RFMF armouries to obtain weapons is neither here nor there. The evidence shows that he was beaten to death at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks while in military custody and the RFMF Commander has subsequently tried to pretend that he died of natural causes.
That means the gravest of criminal offences – not only an extrajudicial killing of a criminal suspect but a clumsy attempt to cover up the killing by someone who should be beyond reproach. Ro Kalouniwai is specifically charged under the Constitution to protect and defend the well-being of the Fijian people. That does not include lying to them, as well as trying to cover up a crime.
Here’s all the evidence you need to see, Fiji. First the statement from Major General Kalouniwai about the death of Jone Vakarisi.
Let’s just repeat the relevant section again:
” A sudden and severe medical emergency”. “The presence of a pre-existing condition”. “Immediate and exhaustive life-saving efforts”..”his unfortunate demise”.
All lies!
This is what actually happened, according to Jone Vakarisi’s death certificate. He was tortured and beaten to death.
Read it carefully: Vakarisi died of asphyxia. He was deprived of air and suffocated. He choked on his own “gastric contents” – his vomit.
He suffered traumatic head injuries. He suffered traumatic chest injuries. He suffered severe blunt force trauma to his head and chest. The injuries caused internal bleeding, including to his heart.
HE WAS KILLED BY THE RFMF.
And this is what the Commander would have us believe.
Jone Kalouniwai is a disgrace who has forfeited his right to command the Fijian military and must be replaced.
There are also serious question marks over the conduct of the Police Commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu. What was a civilian prisoner doing at the Camp in the first place? Vakarisi should have been in police custody. So Tudravu also has some serious explaining to do.
Were the police present at the interrogation session at the Camp? And where were the Australian advisors who are reportedly present there?
What is the response to this outrage by the Australian High Commissioner, Peter Roberts, who has been photographed in public wearing an RFMF tie? Does Australia sanction extra-judicial killings of individuals in military custody in regional forces with which it is doing business?
Here is Jone VakarisI’s full death certificate – a shocking document that demands the government’s immediate attention and response.
And again…
Plus background from the mainstream media….
Of course, the Fijian mainstream media isn’t publishing Vakarisi’s death certificate. They wouldn’t dare, even though the public interest demands it. So much for the “media freedom” that supposedly came with the election of the Rabuka government.
The RFMF Commander must go and go now for the Rabuka government to have any credibility at all. But, of course, we cannot expect that the standard that would apply in any other democracy will apply in Fiji.
We are a nation where the Prime Minister sports a $150,000 gold Rolex watch but won’t say where it came from; a Chief Justice stands accused of perjury and obstructing and perverting the course of justice by a Supreme Court Commission of Inquiry yet remains in office; and now an RFMF Commander who presides over the torture and killing of someone in military custody at the QE Barracks, lies about the circumstances and tries to cover up the facts of the case.
Where is the transparency and accountability Sitiveni Rabuka promised us in all of this? Who is really in charge of law and order – the police or the RFMF? Is this a return to what these people promised would never happen again – Fijians dragged into military facilities and beaten to death?
UPDATE 1900 FIJI TIME:
The RFMF is clearly anticipating retaliation from elements in the drug trade for the killing of Jone Vakarisi, judging from the following message to all personnel from Land Force Operations.
FOR THE RECORD: THE FULL RFMF STATEMENT RELEASED WITH THE AUTHORISATION OF THE COMMANDER. SO THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT THE LIES CONTAINED IN IT ARE HIS.
Graham, in all honesty the police must be blamed because for far too long they have been protecting these drug lords and getting their second income from these lords. Furthermore, KVT had contracted Jone Vakarasi to steal army weapons in order to steal the Vatia Drugs bust. The gangs when taken in were all blaming each other.
It’s unfortunate that he died in military custody, but the police and judiciary needs to be sacked and bring in proper people to run it. These drug lords have been getting away with a lot.
Alex, I realise that there is a wider context here but the fact remains that the RFMF Commander has tried to cover up a murder. That simply isn’t acceptable under any circumstance.
No no that I understand Graham. No explanation for that except it was brutal.
Kalouniwai’s comments that the RFMF acts within the Constitution, specifically Section 131, will clear any military personnel from wrongdoing, essentially making their actions legal under the constitution. Don’t think that the RFMF has made a mistake, all this was calculated and intentional with the mandate given to them by the Constitution in mind, in order to send a statement to the drug gangs operating in Fiji.
All this level of corruption and cover up and death in custody just attracts gangs to Fiji’s shores. People die in custody rather than inform on the bigger international fish, and the bigger fish feel protected by this corruption.
He may have sent a calculated message, but it was a stupid one.
Well said.
Good to see Alexi VF back
Bula Alexi look forward to more from you esp on FICAC and the Judiciary
You can tell by media photos over the last 24 hours that the Commander knows he is in strife.
It is written all over his face.
After all the righteousness in interpretation of the constitutional provisions of safety and well being of all Fijians over the last 12 months they sure have screwed up here.
Extrajudicial Killing anyone?
The claim that there have been illegal weapons seized must be treated skeptically.
Weapons or firearms?
There is a difference.
If they are not firearms then I guess the level of risk diminishes.
If they are firearms and can be traced back to the RFMF Armory that’s a problem, if they aren’t from the armory that’s another problem in itself that needs some explaining by Police and FRCS of how they come to be in the country.
The statement that the weapons ‘Being outside of the RFMF’s official inventory’ smells a lot like, yeah they were ours but we can’t say that so we need to put some spin on it to deflect responsibility.
They need to clarify and present the supposed weapons so that the ‘weapons’, which are yet to be detailed, aren’t being used to justify the fatality.
Criminal Procedure Act anybody?
The line between civilian and military law and oversight is blurred.
If this was supposed to be a joint task force operation with Police, where were the Police?
From a media release earlier in the year it is states that ‘While the Fiji Police Force is the lead agency, the RFMF provides support in logistics, transport, planning, and security for officers in high-risk situations.’
Sounds like the RFMF were acting unilaterally here.
Military custody.
Military interview.
Umm…nope, that’s not how it works under the law in any civilized, developed country.
This is what I heard as well. If the plan to steal munitions had succeeded, and it was used to take the drugs from Vatia, the RFMF would have had to step in, leading to gunfighting in the streets of Suva, which is objectively a much worse scenario than what has occurred with the death in custody. And with the discovery of guns not from the RFMF armoury in the possession of drug gangs, this is still a stark possibility. None of this justifies a death in custody due to alleged brutality, but it is a reason nonetheless.
Either way, Kalouniwai wouldn’t have made that statement knowing that an investigation would have proved it false anyway, so just have to wait and see what else comes out in the following days. Maybe the dreaded section in the constitution will absolve any wrongdoings from this incident with his comment of the RFMF acting within the constitution, this seems likely.
Honestly, I don’t know what came over Vakarisi in the first place to ever think of poking the bear that is the RFMF. He is old enough to know the conduct of the military post 2000 and 2006. The pure hubris, greed, or pressure from greater powers to think of absconding with munitions from the military was his folly.
The RFMF remains the same as it was during Bainimarama’s command. They haven’t changed. The soldiers that were there almost 20 years ago are still there today. Don’t mistake a change in government with a change in the conduct of the military.
I like your line of reasoning. The RFMF were in catch 22 with this individual, he was a clear and present danger to the country that there is no doubt.
There is no “Catch 22”. There is the rule of law as practiced in civilised democracies or the rule of the jungle as practiced by savages. Once again, Fiji has taken the second path.
The body was taken all the way to Wainibokasi when CWM was closer. Were they expecting the police coroner to cover it up for them?
Behind the guarded gates of Queen Elizabeth Barracks lies a history many remember, but few fully understand.
In November 2000, months after the chaos that shook the nation, something even more dangerous unfolded, not in Parliament, but inside the military itself.
It wasn’t an invasion. It was a fracture from within.
Armed members of the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit turned their weapons inward. Gunfire echoed through the barracks. Loyal soldiers fought back. By the time it ended, lives had been lost, some by bullets in the heat of battle, and others battered and bruised after the guns had gone silent.
That moment changed everything. Security at QEB was no longer just protocol, it became absolute. The armoury, the heart of any military base, turned into a line that could not be crossed.
Now, years later, stories surface. Names are mentioned. Claims circulate of individuals bold enough, or reckless enough, to challenge that line.
But here’s what history makes clear:
If trained soldiers, inside their own camp, could not seize control without bloodshed…
What would happen to anyone on the outside trying the same?
Don’t fuk@around with military, if anyone can remember these words after 2006 coup,said by Bai.
I commend the RFMF and the commander for this killing. I hope more light can be shed here about what weapons were stolen. I am sure grubsheet followers will tell us the full story.
Its high time the RFMF stood up and took on this menace.
Well done Commander and well done RFMF.
Yes, let’s just abandon the rule of law altogether. Let’s be just like Indonesia under the generals or the Philippines under the murderous Rodrigo Duterte. We can be murder capital of the South Pacific.Yay!
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg5e1v85lrdo
Looks like military are trying to cover up their own inadequacies. Why were non-military vehicles allowed to enter QEB in the first place? Is it because ex-military personnel who were employed by Jone Vakarisi’s and Imran Khan’s security companies in the vehicles? Was it Jone Vakarisi who led the break in to the QEB armoury or was it someone else?
Yadra GD and glad you took some time off your much needed leave to do this . There is no defence for murder unless perhaps a real national security threat. Maybe they will use the doctrine of necessity here and maybe they will carry out a court martial to protect the identity of the investigating soldiers who killed Vakarisi.
One thing is certain. The gangs won’t take this lightly !! Their focus will shift to the families of those involved and they will be hunted . This is Fiji and someone is bound to talk ! The body count will shortly show . Make no mistake.
On another note – the Police picked up Vakarisi and handed him to the Military. The joint operation ended in murder !
Resignations should be from the Minister of Defence and the Commander and his Deputy Commander ( Tawake) who is a known drugs beneficiary!! He has been involved since he was Navy Commander!
Vakarisi’s boys found the armoury . A soldier or soldiers had to tell them where it is located !!
Great to see you back GD.
Lots happening in Fiji.
The leniency in sentencing people even found in small quantities of drugs are the starting problem.
Most get away from getting custodial even with small quantities and this makes them confident to continue growing in drugs market.
This Vakarisi case is a good example, where he got a lenient sentence. Even if he was put away for 9 months, he perhaps would be living and who knows maybe could have become a changed person, knowing that fact that even small quantity of drugs could land you in prison.
Fiji should learn from Singapore. Even small amount of drugs found, immediate custodial sentence should be given so that paddlers, planters, makers networks are disrupted and fear of prison term remains in them.
Court in Fiji should adopt a very hard approach as drugs is out of hand and thats the reason military is called in to fight as police simply cant handle it.
This Vakarisi case is classic example as I think he was on loose for long and perhaps was not dealt with severity of law and prison terms and as such he thought that he has become invincible now. This illusion costed him his precious life.
On the other hand, military have no right to kill anyone. Now due to several system failures earlier on, such as not dealing with Vakarisi accordingly, military just killed him without due process of the law.
The vakavilitia system in Fiji are setting up a bad image for the country.
When I read the mortem report, Vakarisi died a painful death as injuries found draws one conclusion that he was very badly beaten to death.
I pray for his family and for those who killed him should be in police cell by now. There is no two way about it. Rule of law must prevail.
And for God sake harsher prison terms please so that this never happens again.
Military have no right to punish people, only court have powers.
The guy choked on his own vomit. It happens.
He has evidence of injuries but apart from torture, there are multitude of other reasons for that.
For example, he fell from the building while trying to escape.
He had a motor vehicle accident while trying to escape.
He fought with his #2 who also happens to be in a coma.
He picked up a scalpel to attack Dr Tuisese who was there to check and was subdued by the response team which led to the injuries. He eventually vomited and choked on his vomit.
@GD this is the change you instigated last elections. Lets go one step better and bring about a proper change this coming elections.
Yes, and he had a pre-existing medical condition. He was alive.
I checked on Grubsheet every single day since you announced you were taking a break due to medical reasons. I was pleasantly surprised this morning. However, hope you will take it easy Mr Davis
The outrage to this murder is about 1%, compared to the ghoulish glee that is being bandied about. But this is the Fiji the itaukei want and violently oppose the vulagis if they dare say anything about rule of law. I see more vulagis opposing the vuda waste project then the itaukei and the landowners. Then in 10 years time they will blame the Indians and ASK for that project.
Anyway today is a day of prayer. Wonder how the murderers including the commander and Tudravu are facing God.
Is there going to be a matanigasu, more reconciliations.
Maybe God will speak to someone soon.
Weilei.
Not to trivialize tragedy, if only the deceased stole butter for his children, he’d still be alive.
But he was dealing in poison and violence, which have destroyed uncountable lives, ruined too many families, torn apart little children’s lives and their futures.
The resultant damage done to basic fabric and tenets of societal respect is immense and immeasurable. The deceased and his ilk disregarded the law, often with impunity.
Marshmallow kalouniwaicala must be held accountable. Butadroka-Fat -Face-Yu-Lai life member police commissioner must face the music. Or as he’d say in his own limited vocabulary “taken to task” himself.
Or was this a revenge killing to avenge the late heroic police constable killed in Lami recently?
When too many kilavata, kaivata, and vuvale are appointed using a narrow criteria of who they are and who they know, and not what they know, it is safe to say the chickens are coming home to roost.
The fight has just getting started. To paraphrase a lunatic, open the fking armory, you bastards! Praise be to allah!
There is plenty of money to be made from the devil’s dust. More violence to come in the business of maximizing profits for those peddling in fools gold.
The only question is: who will bell the fat cats?
GD,
Thank you for coming out of convalescence. We all know the Commander is a Rewan – let me leave it at that.
For too long the drug lords have been unteachable with the complicity of Fiji Police and at times even members of the military.
Jone Vakarisi strutted about as if he owned the place and is revered, even worshiped by coconuts from what I am seeing these past few days -social media is to blame for this.
I am not a medical doctor but I cannot see where there are signs he was strangled to death. I have lived most of my adult life in Sydney and even spent time in the Cross and have come across addicts choking on their own spew.
What is there to say that the injuries were not caused by him running into his own twin cab – meth does make people think they are superhuman.
Let us wait for the post mortem and inquest.
Nonsense. It is all there in the death certificate signed by a state medical practitioner with the official stamp of the Ministry of Health. Set it against the risible statement by the RFMF Commander and it is all the evidence we need.
Kalouniwai must go to protect the integrity of the nation’s institutions. But, of course, he won’t because they have already been corrupted and that corruption will undoubtedly continue. But rest assured that this is a blight on his hitherto stellar career that will haunt him to the grave. Because it goes to the heart of his integrity as an individual and a professional.
He is no longer a “clean-skin” but an active participant, and perhaps instigator, in unlawful conduct and an attempt to deceive the Fijian people. His reputation has been shattered irreparably. And so will those of the Prime Minister, Defence Minister and Police Commissioner unless they too come clean about what has happened under their watch.
As I have observed many times before. these people came to power promising better. And they have delivered either more of the same or much worse.
And Fiji slips deeper into the abyss. This country did not have the knowledge, the strength of character or the means to become independent and rule itself without the help it was receiving over fifty years ago, when it declared independence from Great Britain.
The Courts, the Police, the Government and the Army are all out of their depth and out of control. No one is ever held accountable for the things they do without any of them being punished. Moreover, it would appear that some will be rewarded with handsome payouts for crying to their bent Lawyers and taking their accusers to court.
They perform acts that would have people of their position or rank thrown out of the positions they hold before the end of the day if they did the same in civilised countries around the world.
But hey, this is their land and they will be in their churches, this very day apologising to a God of their choice.
Hypocrites, liars, cheats, all banding together to tell themselves that they have followed Gods rules and repented, before going back to work tomorrow. To repeat it all over again. There are none so blind as those that WILL not see!
God bless them all, they surely will need it.
GD, Glad you are back in circulation. Hope you recovering well.
The Commander claims he is acting within Fiji’s constitution!! I hadn’t realised this extrajudicial killing is allowed under Fiji’s 2013 constitution.
Perhaps the Commander and the country needs no reminder that Rodrigo Duterte, former President of Philippines, is now languishing in the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his efforts.
And as always Tudravu demonstrates his usual timidness. He’s not equipped to deal with modern policing challenges.
Justice may be delayed, but rarely denied.
I can name instances where medical practitioners have the wrong diagnosis on a death certificate.
Heck, those with scaled marks cannot even get it right for living patients who have the ability to articulate what is actually wrong with them.
A few of Jiaoji Savou’s FB post reveal what this shining ray of light was all about.
As for Kalouniwai – he has the backing of the heads of all three confederacies. Plus he is a treasured witness in Frank’s persecution so they will never get rid of him.
It doesn’t make it right. So all three Fijian confederacies are going to sanction extra judicial killings? It is the green light for lawlessness and murder on an industrial scale. Be careful what you wish for. Because when that happens, no-one is safe.
And on the diagnosis, are you for real? The man was tortured and beaten to death. Read the bloody certificate. Doctors don’t get a brutal assault on a body wrong. Wake up!
Meanwhile, back at the farm, watch for the eastern island group mafia to take over the funeral arrangements on a grand scale.
The large contingent of Eastern island aligned vililiages in Lami – villages/settlements are named after their originating island. Thug central if you will. Drug central as in one stop shop.
Each and every island in the group will rise to the challenge to give this vile violent criminal a burial befitting his thuggish life. A la Nimacere. This brawler ordered many hits himself. He got people killed. And had killed and maimed others himself.
This dead revered hero from Polynesia islands once brutally beat and threatened arson to a couple of guys in Kinoya.
He and an accomplice once kidnapped a child out of grade school class dressed in suits and ties claiming to be the child’s bodyguards.’
The deceased organized many, many street brawls at the drop of a hat with nary regards to public safety, property damage, life or limb. Nabua rugby league gro7nfs, Raiwai, Mead Rd, Rewa St., Kinoya, and several other places. All will be quiet and peaceful, at least for a little while.
Watch for the Polynesian cabal “journalists” led by the lice give this serial life long criminal a hero’s farewell. Lice will tell ABC radio in her convoluted accents (yes, plural) speaking in tongues explaining how virtuous and innocent this criminal was.
While in NZ, OZ, USA, UK, et al criminals are simply shot dead, including drug traffickers, bikies, and street gang members. Extra judicial my proverbial.
India is infamous for taking thugs back to the crime scene, usually at night, and let the thugs free to “re-enact” the crime and shoot them dead for trying to “escape.”
A speedier “trial” than the police and victims having to wait 10 to 20 years for India courts to determine guilt (or not).
The above remarks by no means are meant to condone the rfmf’s conduct, nor the police, nor the thug’s. Violence begets violence. Live by the sword and all that.
Let the recriminations begin in earnest.
Jone Vakarisi was actually a former schoolmate of mine. He was about two years younger. I remember him as a boy full of energy, someone who always stood out. From a young age, he had a mischievous side, and unfortunately, that behaviour seemed to grow over time into something more serious and, as many now say, more associated with violence.
There is also a harsh reality people often refer to, “don’t poke the bear.” In this case, the bear is the Republic of Fiji Military Forces. It is a powerful institution, and any confrontation with it carries serious consequences. At the same time, any talk of retaliation or revenge, especially by criminal elements, would only lead to more harm and instability. That path would not benefit anyone.
What makes this situation difficult is the broader issue our country is facing with drugs. While it is deeply saddening that a life has been lost, there is also a national concern about the growing impact of drugs in our communities. That is where the real dilemma lies, how to deal firmly with serious crime while still upholding the rule of law and basic human rights.
The military and the police have different roles and approaches, but ultimately, any action taken must remain within the law. If we lose that balance, we risk creating more problems than we solve.
At the end of the day, this is a moment for reflection, for our institutions, and for us as a society, on how we address crime without losing our values.
These guys attempted to steal guns and ammunition from the Army to use on the streets of Fiji to wreak total havoc and kill innocent people.
Good riddance. They should have executed all 4 of them.
Thank you RFMF. You have saved Tourism and Aviation industry and countless innocent lives and jobs.
You supporting law of Jungle with a load of assumptions. RFMF can’t kill people in their custody. The criminal justice system is independent of RFMF.
The Constitution guarantees right of life to all and it is crystal clear that Komanda is lying as evidenced by medical certificate. He needs to be held accountable.
He may have been a scumbag, but he had rights under the rule of law.
He should have been charged for his crimes and given the opportunity to answer to law, and not subjected to extra-judicial killing.