Grubsheet today publishes a leaked document that reveals what the Opposition has so far been unable to get the government to produce – information that is clearly in the public interest on the police investigations into those named in the Ashton-Lewis Commission of Inquiry into the Malimali affair.
It reveals who was investigated by the police, who wasn’t investigated and who clearly should have been, based on the CoI recommendations. Plus three individuals who were investigated and clearly shouldn’t have been, including Justice David Ashton-Lewis himself, based on complaints that had nothing to do with the Inquiry itself.
No less than seven of the police investigations were conducted into Barbara Malimali herself. And incredibly, the ODPP ruled that none of them warrant prosecution when we already know for a start that Malimali lied on multiple occasions that she had never been found guilty of professional misconduct when she was barred from practising the law in Tuvalu.
The two criteria for prosecution are whether there is a likelihood of securing a conviction and whether a prosecution is in the public interest. It is inconceivable that the Acting DPP, Nancy Tikoisuva, can have decided that she was unlikely to secure a conviction when the evidence against Barbara Malimali is so clear cut. Similarly, prosecuting Malimali for a false declaration alone was clearly in the public interest if only to send a clear message to anyone seeking high office that lying under oath will not be tolerated.
For reasons known only to her, Nancy Tikoisuva decided that no action was warranted on any of the seven separate police files. Under the circumstances, an independent inquiry is clearly warranted into whether the Acting DPP was genuinely acting in the public interest or in the interests of her friendship with Barbara Malimali, which was cited as a conflict of interest in the CoI Report.
The secret file also reveals that the Chief Justice and Nancy Tikoisuva’s patron, Salesi Temo, was the subject of a police investigation arising from the CoI along with “others” who are aren’t identified in the leaked handwritten note that contains the details of the 12 investigations by the police, eleven of which had been sent on when that note was written.
We can assume that those “others” are the individuals who were in the room at FICAC on September 5 2024 when the Chief Registrar, Tomasi Bainivalu, conveyed a message from the Chief Justice to the then FICAC acting deputy commissioner, Francis Puleiwai, that no charges she laid would be heard by any court in Fiji.
This conversation was digitally recorded and presented as evidence to the CoI by someone who was in the room – the then FICAC chief investigator Kuliniasi Saumi. It is hard evidence of what Justice David Ashton-Lewis described as an attempt to obstruct or pervert the course of justice. But while the police investigated what happened, again the ODPP decided not to prosecute either the Chief Justice, the Chief Registrar or any of those present, including the President of the Fiji Law Society, Wylie Clarke.
Given that it is all on tape, the Fijian people clearly deserve an explanation as to why that recording wasn’t enough for charges to be laid and the veracity of what took place to be properly tested in a court of law.
Incredibly, it was Kuliniasi Saumi who found himself under police investigation on a complaint from Barbara Malimali that he had not been authorised to record the meeting. And equally incredibly, Francis Puleiwai was also the subject of a police investigation on a complaint from Barbara Malmali that she had been unlawfully detained earlier in the day when she refused to answer questions about alleged abuse of office as head of the Electoral Commission.
Yet the most outrageous of these investigations is that into the presiding Judge himself, Justice David Ashton-Lewis. We know that Salesi Temo, assisted by Charlie Charters, and Victor Lal of Fijileaks complained to the police about something totally unrelated to the CoI – that the Judge had misrepresented himself when he applied to be a Supreme Court judge.
The details are hotly disputed but, in any event, are ultimately irrelevant. These were clear attempts to thwart the Commission of Inquiry. And it is perhaps the least surprising aspect of this whole episode that the police found insufficient evidence to support these allegations.
Utterly surprising – in fact scandalous – is the fact that some of those adversely mentioned in the CoI Report weren’t investigated by the police at all. They are the sacked attorney general, Graham Leung, the Solicitor General, Ropate Green Lomavatu, the now Acting Attorney General, Siromi Turaga, and the now stood aside deputy Prime Minister, Manoa Kamikamica, although Kamikamica has subsequently been charged by FICAC with perjury and is facing trial.
The police also didn’t investigate the Deputy DPP, John Rabuku, despite him also being adversely mentioned in the CoI report and the fact that he enjoys a close friendship with Barbara Malimali. Why? It is among a number of serious questions that deserve answers from both the Police Commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu, and John Rabuku’s other close friend, Nancy Tikoisuva.
With this leak and its sensational contents, it is high time for the government to come clean about the facts of these investigations and the precise reasons why none of them – not one – have resulted in prosecutions, despite hard evidence of wrongdoing. And why certain powerful individuals at the heart of government who were adversely named in the CoI Report have escaped investigation altogether.
In Chapter 7 of his Report, Justice Ashton-Lewis stressed that the CoI findings couldn’t be used to prosecute anyone and that the police needed to conduct an “independent” investigation .
Readers should refer to this first before proceeding to the leaked document and finally reminding themselves of the Coi’s findings in relation to all those adversely mentioned. Now read on….
QUESTIONS FOR THE POLICE COMMISSIONER, RUSIATE TUDRAVU, AND THE ACTING DPP, NANCY TIKOISUVA:
1/ Was there a genuinely independent police investigation into the Commission of Inquiry’s findings? The evidence suggests otherwise when some people adversely mentioned haven’t been investigated at all.
2/ Given hard evidence in the form of Barbara Malimali’s false declarations and a digital recording of the September 5 meeting at FICAC, what possible justification can there be for not laying charges and having those charges tested in the courts?
3/ Was the public interest genuinely the primary concern or was it the personal interests of some of those adversely mentioned by the CoI and their interconnecting relationships?
3/ Were representations made to you by any of the interested parties that investigations either be curtailed or dropped altogether?
4/ In the case of Nancy Tikoisuva, on precisely what basis did you decide that none of the police investigations warranted charges being laid? The Fijian people clearly require a detailed explanation on a case-by-case basis.
Now to the document itself:
Now the cases in detail – the numbered police investigations followed by the CoI Recommendations on which they were based.
WHO WAS INVESTIGATED. AND HOW COULD THEY HAVE POSSIBLY ALL GOT AWAY WITHOUT A SINGLE CHARGE BEING LAID?
BARBARA MALIMALI:
CHIEF JUSTICE SALESI TEMO “AND OTHERS”
WHO ARE THE “OTHERS”?
Presumably those who were present in the room at FICAC on September 5 2024 when the Chief Registrar, Tomasi Bainivalu, conveyed a message from the Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, to the then acting deputy commissioner, Francis Puleiwai, telling her that no charges she laid would be heard by any court in Fiji.
This encounter was digitally recorded by the then FICAC chief investigator, Kuliniasi Saumi, and it is hard evidence of what took place. Incredibly, no charges have flowed from that hard evidence .
The four “others” – Amani Bale, Laurel Vaurasi, Wylie Clarke and Nemani Tuifagalele.
WHO WASN’T INVESTIGATED BUT CLEARLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN:
The sacked Attorney General, Graham Leung, the Solicitor General, Ropate Green Lomavatu, the now sidelined deputy prime minister, Manoa Kamikamica, and the now Acting Attorney General, Siromi Turaga, all escaped any police investigation despite being adversely mentioned in the CoI Report.
Why? We so far have no explanation but we clearly deserve one. These are allegations of serious crimes that haven’t even been investigated by the police, let alone presented to the ODPP for a decision on whether to prosecute.
Was political pressure applied to the Police or ODPP to ignore any action against these individuals? It is a matter of grave concern that goes to the heart of the integrity of our offices of state.
AND FINALLY, THOSE WHO WERE INVESTIGATED BY THE POLICE BUT CLEARLY SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN. BECAUSE THIS WAS A CRUDE ATTEMPT TO MUDDY THE WATERS AND DERAIL THE COI.
At the end of all of this, Fiji, do you – like Grubsheet – smell a huge rat?
If you do, please act now to put as much pressure on your community representatives at every level to fight for the integrity of the nation’s offices of state, which have been steadily corrupted over the past three years to serve the interests of the Coalition and its supporters.
Momentous events are beginning to take shape in the form of new political parties to challenge the Coalition with new ideas to put an end to the nation’s decay. (More on this in the coming days and weeks)
It isn’t too late. In the same way that the last government was defeated, this one can be too.
You have your vote. Use it.
GD – this is a great game-changing explosive article- as you have said, it’s the votes that really matter. For most Fijians, these things are becoming the normal way of life, they are accepting this as part and parcel of this lot’s governance (wrong but true for many as they survive day to day living crisis). They have to stand and be counted at the ballot box ( if and when it happens).
If they are expecting the army to save them, it’s never going to happen – the Commander is simply a weak spineless abject and pusillanimous coward who couldn’t swat a fly. Ro Jone Logavatu Kalouniwai ( more like Ro Chuni Log-rock Kala-noni-ke pani) is the real cause of this demise in Fiji, his bunch of dim wits army zombies just follow this recreant beta Zombie.
Most people saw the army as the custodian of their rights and the 2013 consititution which rules our society – instead, Kala-noni- ke -pani and his zombies have chosen to allow Rabuka and his cronies to rape and pillage our basic rights, exploit our tax dollars for personal gain and completely create an dysfunctional corrupt Fiji.
As the custodians of Fiji’s constitution are also corrupt, who can stop this current lot from looting and destroying Fiji. Shame on anybody who is in the army or related to one in the army and reading this article – this article highlights the atrocities being openly commited in our country and you in the army or your connection in the army are doing nothing about it.
As Pramesh Sharma (Pussy Grabber) said on his FB, “we are in power and you keyboard dogs can’t do nothing about it. Keep barking as much as you want from Aust & NZ , you will get tired while we will still be here, in control”.
This is the type of power trip these people are on and why we feel helpless some days. The only way out, as GD says, vote them out, don’t expect the systematic looting and widespread destruction of Fiji to stop, the Moronic Kala-noni-ke pani and his Obtuse imbecilic army won’t help, it’s up to you now.
So, according to your reasoning, the Army is responsible for democracy. And please dont quote Section 131 (2) of that Constitution that was shoved down our throats with the barrel of the very guns you are saying should now step in to save us.
In any democratic society, ultimate authority does not reside in the barracks, but in the ballot box. Governments are not installed by force of arms, nor sustained by the will of soldiers—they are chosen, judged, and removed by the people. Thats the principle Section 131 (2) ignores.
It is the citizen, standing in a polling booth, who confers legitimacy on those who govern. That quiet act of voting carries far greater authority than any weapon ever could. The power of a rifle may compel obedience, but it can never command consent— and without consent, there can be no true democracy.
The role of the military in a democratic state is clear and limited: to defend the nation from external threats and to support civil authorities when lawfully directed. It is not the role of the military to determine political outcomes, to arbitrate disputes between citizens and their elected leaders, or to substitute its judgment for that of the electorate.
When the military steps beyond this role, it risks eroding the very foundations it is meant to protect. Intervention by force, however well-intentioned, undermines the rule of law, weakens civilian institutions, and diminishes the sovereignty of the people. It replaces consent with coercion and sets a precedent that power flows from the barrel of a gun rather than from the will of the people.
If citizens are dissatisfied with their leaders, the answer is not to look to the military to intervene. The answer lies in democratic action: voting, public debate, lawful protest, and holding leaders accountable through institutions designed for that purpose. These mechanisms may be slower than force, but they are legitimate—and legitimacy is what sustains a nation over time.
A democracy is strongest not when the military acts, but when it does not need to—when institutions are trusted, when laws are respected, and when the people themselves determine their future.
In the end, the true custodians of democracy are not those who carry weapons, but those who carry the responsibility of citizenship
There is no doubt this so-called vet had the exact same views in the pre-planned, organized military backed and actioned upheavals of 1987, 2000, and 2006.
High democratic ideals all the way. Hypocrisy of the highest order. All your BS ideals and fake democratic values go out the window when it’s time to remove/overthrow/usurp democratically elected government the natives hate based on pure racism.
If an Indo-led government was committing a fraction of the current farcical unconstitutional outrageous unlawful acts, supported by a rogue corrupted police, rogue odpp, rogue judiciary, incompetent inept rogue baboon AG and SG, rogue state house housing a pedo, the same military imbeciles would’ve come out guns blazing to “save the day from the vulagi”.
If you think Fiji is now in a functioning, transparent, democracy, then iu Mr Vet must pull your finger out your ass.
Vaark off!
So which institutions do you trust? which laws are respected by the lawmakers?
As for the people – they have determined their future – it is going to be a very black one for the vulagi.
OMG – is this for real? 4 years up and this shit just gets worse. For a country with gutless Media like FBC, MAI TV, Fiji Times and Communications Fiji, this site is the only source of some transparent information. Thank you Mr Davis – we are blessed to have the likes of you, Alex Forwood, FijiLeaks and others who fight to inform the public without any fear and complete honesty.
Stanley Boci Simpson, Vijay Fatty Poop face Narayan, William POPO Parkinson, Felix Pussy Chaudary, and Fred Levuka Loser Wise – be ashamed, you deserve a special place in hell.Fiji Media is corrupt and spineless – watch Felix and Stanley on FBC TV (Mosese Raqios Show), it was close to gay porn, they nearly swallowed each other with praise about each other’s grand leadership and journalistic skills.
This is the type of monkeys running Fiji Media and that’s why you wont know about such govt corruption in local fiji media – for actual transparent news, look to real custodians of media like this site and others similar.
GD , around Christmas you suggested you might take a sabbatical from GS this year.
Please don’t.
We need critical thinkers to keep them honest and us sane.
You’re going to have some great content to work with this year.
It will be spectacular.
I love this vision in your crystal ball. Here’s to the spectacular!
Thank you for lifting my spirits. Let’s hope for better times for everyone by this time next year.
Gone are the days where Journalists wait around for something print worthy to happen. Fiji has become a Mecca for print worthy drama. The journo’s here must feel like hungry dogs with muzzles on, else they get their head chopped off.
Graham is our greyhound doggedly chasing that rabbit, never taking his eyes off what is happening in Fiji, and thankfully bringing the transparency necessary for there to be any hope.
Thank you for your selfless work for Fiji. I agree that there will be some spectacular drama this year in Fiji!
Everyone, including the public, can smell a rat because it stinks to high heaven, except the Fiji news media, either because they are dumb with no critical thinking skills or because of biased reporting.
I don’t think that the news media have raised any of the questions in your analysis, and nor will they. As a regular reader of news, it’s clear to me that they have no analytical reporting skills whatsoever.
Thank God we have a Grubsheet, FijiLeaks and the likes of Alex Forwood who are doing more than the whole Fiji news media put together.
The Fiji news media is a lame duck, not a watchdog.