So the FICAC Commissioner has gone on leave with her full powers intact and a magistrate – a member of the judiciary – has been appointed as Acting Deputy Commissioner in the executive ( the government) in complete defiance of the traditional convention of the separation of powers between the legislature (parliament) the executive (government) and the judiciary (the courts).
It is a breathtaking development and it is hard to see how it will satisfy the demands of the Commission of Inquiry into Barbara Malimali‘s appointment for her to be suspended when she remains as FICAC Commissioner on leave but is still in a position to wield her considerable powers.
Why is the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, so determined to keep Barbara Malimali in office? The ball is squarely in his court to explain himself. And there can be no more blaming the Judicial Services Commission. Because as Professor Philip Joseph KC has established once and for all, it is the Prime Minister who has the power to recommend to the President whether Barbara Malimali should be suspended and he has again refused to do so.
There is clearly a big difference between suspension and going on leave. If Malimali had been suspended, her powers would have been also suspended and been transferred to someone in an acting position. But going on leave means that she retains those powers and axiomatically, the ability to influence and intimidate witnesses at FICAC who are still to appear before the Commission of Inquiry.
We await the response of both Justice David Ashton-Lewis, the Commissioner, and a proper explanation from the Prime Minister instead of the absurd platitudes about “transparency, governance and integrity of the process” that routinely emanate from Tomasi Bainivalu, the drink-driving Chief Registrar and Secretary to the JSC.
It is difficult to understand how on earth the COI can “carry out its mandated objective and present its findings to the President” while Barbara Malimali is able to continue to exert undue influence and interfere with witnesses at the Commission when she is still in charge of FICAC.
Was this also the legal advice of the Attorney General, Graham Leung? Because it is quite simply bizarre.
They’ll try every trick in the trade to circumvent the King Council’s decision!
So which of these people currently holding these positions, fit the definition of “fit and proper person” in accordance with common standards to occupy the positions they hold:
1. President
2. Prime Minister
3. Chief Justice
4. Attorney General
5. Minister for Justice
6. Chief Registrar
7. Commissioner of FICAC
8. Minister for Education
9. Minister of Finance
10. Minister for Sugar
11. Minister for Tourism
12. Minister for Trade etc
13. Speaker of the House
14. One government back bencher
15. Minister for Climate Change
16. Minister for Police
17. Minister for Immigration
I am sure there are many others who will fit the list easily. There seems to be a lot of misfits in government and the government machinery and then the people of Fiji wonder why the country is where it is!
Forgot to add:
18. Solicitor General
19. Acting DPP
20. Assistant DPP
and many more.
NONE
At least this has provide some pathway for COI to complete its investigation/interview process without any interference from the SIREN OF TUVALU…however, the PM should do the honorable thing and revoke Barbara Malimali’s appointment until the COI has complete its job and provide its findings to the Government…
Lets do the right thing and be transparent and account to the people of Fiji, we deserve more than what is currently taking place…lets move this country forward together as LAW abiding citizens, whether you are a leader, or custodian of the LAW, or custodian of the land or an ordinary coconut famer like me from the biggest bay in Fiji…
LET’S UPHOLD THE RULE OF THE LAW AND MOVE FIJI FORWARD – WE, THE PEOPLE DESERVE BETTER AND EQUALITY IN THE EYES OF THE LAW AND GOD…
Unfortunately it doesn’t “provide some pathway for COI to complete its investigation” because Barbara Malmali is still Commissioner and retains all her considerable powers. So it changes nothing.
@Kaiviti
Your prejudice is showing even though you are not a happy Kaiviti.
You mean we should all move the country forward, back to the past?
Because I believe people like you are very happy to move the country forward back to the past. The PM and his group of misfits in government and in the whole government machinery have no other purpose.
So when Christopher Pryde goes on leave, they appoint an acting DPP, but when Milamila goes on leave, they don’t.
Animal Farm is an understatement for our Vudi Republic!!
Surely there is big fggk up in the system, and by retaining Barbara in the position, certain individual’s positions are safe.
The Military must intervene as custodian of the constitution to safeguard the legal system of this country.
Imagine being a fly on the wall when the Siren of Tuvalu took the stand yesterday. I would have loved to see the faces inside the CoI room.
She is a shameless woman who continues to bring the country down. Our Prime Minister is never to be trusted with anyone. He lies and pretends he doesn’t know. He is the worst PM Fiji has ever had. A total disgrace and failure within JSC.
Do these swines ever stop fooling themselves? The whole country knows about the list of many Ministers in the Coalition who are under FICAC investigations and what Malimali is there for.
Things are going to get worse and the shit is hitting the fan, fast and bad.
They can run all they want. The truth has caught up big time.
I bet Commissioner Ashton-Lewis and Janet Mason will not rest till it is provided in writing that Malimali is suspended.
I am in awe of Mason and her courage to stand for what she has undertaken on oath to do..
Fijians are going mad on Fiji One News about Malimali’s leave. They want her gone and they are openly questioning JSC and PM.
Time for fresh elections.
https://www.facebook.com/share/18JQJUnYJV/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Stanley Vulagi Simpson writes on his FB page,
“Seems like they met at the halfway. COI wanted Barbara Malimali suspended, but JSC instead asked her to go on leave.
So now no excuses to delay and drag on COI. No one wants to say how much it is costing us, how much people are being paid etc. But important that it completes its work – we want to see a decision.”
This is why our media is not allowed in the COI room. Because of stupid fools who call themselves journalists in Fiji. Another gutter level statement from Stanley. How about he stops assuming and starts writing the facts.
Sneaky move, but what else would you expect from iTaukei Christian Nationalists. Barbara is still pulling the strings.
There’s nothing Christian about Fiji Kaysee, Jesus left our shores the day Seru Cakobau died. Many have since tried to convert them to real Christianity to no avail. In fact they’ve converted Christianity to some kind of a traditional kava drinking party where they encourage each other on how to hate and take everything for themselves for free.
The entire lot of people in the judiciary have come out of law school plagiarising .
This country is home to the most venomous human beings preaching hate and grabbing everything for free because as one commenter on this site once said, this is kaiviti land ,they can do whatever they want because it is their land. Most of these lunatics in the legal fraternity are low level lawyers,some who cannot even pronounce simple English words like erroneous. I along with Magistrate Seruvatu had a chuckle when the then LTA lawyer had difficulty in saying erroneous during a defense of a parking ticket. It sounded like arrow neigh oos.
Shame on Sitiveni Rabuka. He has once again proven beyond any doubt that he is unfit to lead Fiji. His leadership is not about serving the people – it is about protecting himself and his inner circle. He surrounds himself with handpicked loyalists whose sole purpose is to shield him and his allies from accountability.
Rabuka us no statesman. He has no genuine desire to heal the wounds of the past. Instead, he is driven by greed, jealousy, and an unrelenting obsession with power. His hatred for non iTaukeis is evident in his relentless push to change the constitution – not to serve the nation, but to cement his rule like a monarch, with the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC) and the Methodist Church as his enforcers.
He is using the likes of Leung, Biman, Charan, Sashi, Agni, and a few others as pawns to serve his own interests. Does he care about them? Absolutely not. When their usefulness expires, he will discard them without hesitation.
And now look at his actions against Malimali and Temo – two individuals he personally appointed. Instead of suspending Malimali, as per lawful advice, he has opted to put her on leave – an outright defiance of due process. This reeks of desperation and abuse of power. The entire issue was about Malimali’s suspension, not whether she should take leave. Rabuka’s maneuvering is a blatant contempt of lawful advice, and one can only hope that Justice Lewis will take a strong stand against this mockery of governance.
The entire debacle stinks of corruption, cronyism, and deceit. Fiji deserves better than a leader who puts himself and his chosen few above the nation.
The real impact for Fiji will soon be witnessed by one and all.
Eg; a guy here in Australia was looking to bring his family over to Fiji for a holiday soon, so he was asking me a few relevant questions and I had to honestly tell him that law and order is a pressing issue at the moment. His facial expression said it all.
What the Fiji electorate needs to remember in 2026 is to ask all these PAP politicians the hard questions about they’ve done since 2022.
Don’t let them talk about new toilet blocks, new policies and new programs.
Ask them
1. Their huge salary increase
2. How Lynda was not sacked
3. The rushed appointment of S Temo
4. The treatment of Mr Pryde
5. How Malimali was parachuted in over Puleiwai
6. Why didn’t Rabuka display strong moral leadership when faced with these matters of national interest
7. How did Rabuka give a paedophile the highest position as President, a convicted felon as well.
These questions must be asked, otherwise expect another 4 years of worse governance.
Malimali going on leave is all part of the deception this government is doing to fool the people of Fiji.