# GRUBSHEET RETURNS TO ANNOUNCE OUR CHOICE FOR 2025’s FIJIAN OF THE YEAR

At a time when the nation is wallowing in crisis – wracked by chaotic and dysfunctional governance, a drug threat that threatens the integrity of the state and a widespread breakdown in basic standards of conduct and morality – we have chosen someone we described last August as “Fiji’s forgotten woman” as worthy of being Fijian of the Year for 2025 and a role model for the entire nation.

The now exiled Francis Puleiwai – the former acting deputy commissioner of FICAC – exemplifies all of the qualities we think the nation so badly needs – courage, tenacity, a commitment to the truth, respect for the sanctity of Fiji’s institutions and someone willing to sacrifice personal considerations to put principle and the nation first.

We’ve long recorded her principled stand in standing up to the posse of corrupt individuals who descended on FICAC on September 5, 2024, to bully Francis Puleiwai into standing aside to allow the corruptBarbara Malimali to take over the corruption watchdog to block charges and shut down investigations into a slew of government ministers and other individuals. (You can revisit these accounts below).

Grubsheet readers will recall that Francis Puleiwai intended to charge the NFP leader, Biman Prasad, on that very day and had also arrested Barbara Malimali when she arrived at FICAC headquarters to take charge for Malimali’s alleged corruption as head of the Electoral Commission. It is now a matter of historical record that the Chief Registrar, Tomasi Bainivalu, conveyed a message to Puleiwai from the then acting chief justice, Salesi Temo, that no court in Fiji would hear any charge she laid against anyone.

This frontal assault on the independence of FICAC was a clear attempt to obstruct the course of justice and was determined as such by the Supreme Court judge, Justice David Ashton-Lewis, who pointed the finger specifically at Salesi Temo, accusing him of obstructing and perverting the course of justice and of perjury in his sworn evidence before the CoI denying his role in the affair.

The evidence of what took place isn’t “hearsay” – as the CoI’s critics continually try to portray it – but hard evidence in the form of a digital recording that strips bare precisely what occurred at FICAC on September 5. And it implicates not only the Chief Justice but the Chief Registrar and someone else who was in the room – the President of the Fiji Law Society, Wylie Clarke, who remained mute while Bainivalu delivered the message from Salesi Temo when Clarke must have known that what was happening was unlawful.

So did the Law Society’s former president, Laurel Vaurasi. And It beggars belief that the nation’s lawyers in private practice subsequently re-elected Wylie Clarke to lead them when the CoI said he was open to a charge of also perverting the course of justice (more on this to come in our next article).

The historical record shows that Francis Puleiwai stood firm against the bully-boys who were intimidating her. That too was all being digitally recorded, although those present weren’t aware of it. And we have that recording – their bullying and her resistance – courtesy of someone else who also deserves the highest praise for standing up for the rule of law and has also suffered mightily for his integrity – the former FICAC chief investigator, Kuliniasi Saumi.

Not only did Francis Puleiwai lose her job and was forced into exile in New Zealand as Barbara Malimali pursued her, but Malimali also sacked Kuliniasi Saumi when he revealed at the CoI that he had recorded what had occurred in the room on September 5 without telling those present. It is the “smoking gun” that has enveloped all of those present in scandal and exposed them to the most serious criminal charges that carry lengthy jail terms. And it isn’t going to go away despite the frantic efforts of the Chief Justice and others, including the President of the Fiji Law Society and his supporters.

There can only be one Fijian of the Year and we have chosen Francis Puleiwai. But Kuliniasi Saumi also deserves the highest praise and respect for taking a stand for justice and the rule of law. Both of these individuals have proven themselves people of the highest integrity and are wonderful role models for Fijian young people at a time when genuine role models are in shamefully short supply.

Both have suffered grievously for standing up for principle, and especially Francis Puleiwai, who has been forced to leave Fiji altogether. After the CoI declared her blameless over the events at FICAC, the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, reached out to her offering to reinstate her. But that offer was withdrawn when Francis Puleiwai – quite justifiably – lodged a formal police complaint against the Chief Justice and the others present in the room (see below). It was a scandalous betrayal by the Prime Minister not only of Puleiwai but the integrity of the criminal justice system.

16 months after the events of September 5, this drama is still being played out.

• The Prime Minister continues to defy his constitutional duty to insist that the President, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, suspend Salesi Temo and put him before a Tribunal of three judges.
• The Chief Justice continues to have an iron grip on the judiciary and the ODPP, which is refusing to act on police recommendations that some of the principals be charged.
• Sitiveni Rabuka and Temo’s relative by marriage – the President – continue to protect the Chief Justice, leaving themselves open to future charges of perverting the course of justice.
• Francis Puleiwai and Kuliniasi Saumu continue to be sidelined and pursued after they were cleared of any wrongdoing by the CoI.
• And while Barbara Malimali has since been sacked from FICAC and her replacement, Lavi Rokoika, has been pursuing some of the cases Malimali corruptly closed, we learn today that the corrupt Chief Justice is intent on removing Rokoika from the corruption watchdog by advertising the substantive position of FICAC Commissioner, choosing a tame watchdog and protecting the whole sorry lot of them. (see below).

As we’ll be reporting in detail soon, this attempt at state capture – if not already that – has attracted the renewed interest of the military and we are about to enter yet another period of uncertainty about the nation’s direction.

We’ve all seen the extent to which the current order is prepared to go to nail Frank Bainimarama and Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. Yet even if the RFMF doesn’t directly intervene, the corrupt triumvirate of Sitiveni Rabuka, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu and Salesi Temo – plus their assorted stooges including the Acting Attorney General, Siromi Turaga, and Acting DPP, Nancy Tikoisuva – are leaving themselves wide open to getting the same treatment as Frank and Aiyaz in the event of a change of government at the coming election – charges of obstructing and perverting the course of justice.

It is the inevitable corollary of refusing to comply with the provisions of the 2013 Constitution – the supreme law – which has been ratified by the Supreme Court as Fiji’s legitimate constitution until it is changed by lawful means and must be obeyed. Yet all the evidence shows that it is being willfully corrupted as the Prime Minister refuses to advise the President to suspend the Chief Justice for misbehaviour when there is a judicial finding of serious criminal conduct against him. And the President stands accused of having confirmed his relative, Salesi Temo, in the position of Chief Justice without having performed his constitutional duty to consult and take advice from the Prime Minister.

Rarely has the law in Fiji been so blatantly violated. Yet it is being done so with the acquiescence if not the active encouragement of the President of the Fiji Law Society representing the nation’s lawyers and Wylie Clarke’s cheerleaders – Biman Prasad’s lawyer, Richard “I have the means” Naidu and Charlie “Longloaf” Charters, who is actively assisting Salesi Temo to derail the Ashton-Lewis Commission of Inquiry, along with a supine media which is ignoring the whole sorry saga.

But to return to our Fijian of the Year award. We asked our readers for their own suggestions and in no particular order, here are some of them who are certainly worthy of mention and praise:

• Janet Mason, the Counsel Assisting the CoI, who wrote its landmark report and the findings that the establishment is now going all-out to bury. While Justice Ashton-Lewis himself is a foreigner and doesn’t qualify, Janet Mason is a Fiji citizen whose mother is iTaukei and happens to now be contemplating a career in local politics.
• Brigadier General Manoa Gadai, whose sensational intervention offering to lead the fight against drugs earned him a reprimand from the RFMF Commander, Major General Ro Jone Kalouniwai, but has since forced the police to accept a heightened military role against the drug barons tearing the nation apart.
• Alex Forwood – the fearless Sydney-based whistleblower and social media whirlwind – who has become the “go to” for anyone with allegations of wrongdoing and has forced the authorities to take her allegations seriously, especially those against the police.
• Savenaca Narube – the Unity Party leader who has blotted his copybook in many eyes for supporting the return of the racially-weighted 1997 Constitution yet has been a consistent proponent of better governance over the years.
• Nilesh Lal, the respected head of Dialogue Fiji, whose public interventions on a range of controversial issues have been fearless, articulate and who seems certain to play an important role in influencing public opinion in the election lead-up.
• Judy Compain, who has also been fearless in demanding government action on the appalling state of the CWM, Fiji’s biggest teaching hospital.
• Jioji Savou, another social media warrior with a large following capable of influencing opinion.
• And our very own iTaukei columnist. CommonMan, who has been uncommonly critical of aspects of iTaukei society and especially the role of the chiefs, most recently accusing the government of foisting chiefs on the vanua who are unworthy of respect just to fill vacant positions.

All these individuals are worthy of praise but not “Fijian of the Year”, at least in Grubsheet’s humble opinion. So why Francis Puleiwai? Because the defence and preservation of our institutions of state – the protection of their independence against the executive – is THE most important thing in Fiji right now. Yet their integrity is being routinely violated by a government that promised to make them more independent than under the FijiFirst Government yet has compromised them even more for its own political purposes.

What we have learned from the recording Kuliniasi Saumi made of the events at FICAC on September 5, 2024, is not only the corruption of some of our most important office holders but the bravery of an ITaukei woman given the job of defending the independence of FICAC to stand up to the bully boys and do the right thing. For Francis Puleiwai, not caving in and meekly acquiescing to the blatant obstruction and perversion of justice marks her out as a person of exceptional courage and integrity.

She did so at huge personal cost. Not only did she walk away and was forced into exile – separated from her young children for a long period and the rest of her family and friends. When she was cleared by the CoI of any wrongdoing and Barbara Malimali was eventually removed, she insisted on pursuing a police complaint against those who had acted corruptly (see below). And that cost her the opportunity to return to FICAC when the Prime Minister withdrew his offer to re-instate her. Punished again by Sitiveni Rabuka for doing the right thing.

In Grubsheet’s view, she is a hero – along with her then colleague, Kuliniasi Saumi. And for that reason, she is our Fijian of the Year for 2025.

We have since learned in recent days that the police have again cleared Francis Puleiwai of wrongdoing on a complaint made against her by Barbara Malimali. And that Malimali herself faces criminal prosecution for her own conduct as FICAC head.

More on all of that to come. But for now, Francis, Fiji salutes you. If only you could be cloned. Because we have never needed people like you and Kuliniasi Saumi more to put our blighted nation back on course.

—————————–

Grubsheet from August 29, 2025:

# THE GRAND CONSPIRACY TO DENY JUSTICE TO FIJI’S FORGOTTEN WOMAN, FRANCIS PULEIWAI

Francis Puleiwai’s police complaint against the Chief Justice and the rest of the posse who unlawfully intimidated her on September 5, 2024:

Today’s Fiji Times on the hunt for a new Commissioner of FICAC – a blatant attempt to remove Lavi Rokoika to derail the cases against a host of senior figures:

—————–

For other Grubsheet stories on this saga, just type in “Francis Puleiwai” or “Kuliniasi Saumi” or “Barbara Malimali” or Salesi Temo” into our search engine on the right.

Coming soon, why Sitiveni Rabuka is now open to a charge of obstructing and perverting the course of justice. Plus sensational details of the police findings arising from the CoI.