The first rule of crisis management is to staunch the bleed. Which when it comes to politics, means starving a negative story of oxygen. To shut it down so that it is out of the headlines and you can begin the task of saving the rest of the furniture and moving on.
It is why the management of the People’s Alliance is reported to have told Lynda Tabuya to shut up – to stop making public comments blaming Victor Lal and Alexandra Forwood for leaking her pornographic video and blaming everyone else but herself for the clip being made public and the further collapse of her reputation in polite society in Fiji and the diaspora.
The General Secretary of the People’s Alliance, Sila Balawa, is said to have told Tabuya that engaging in a public blame game is merely piling more embarrassment on the Party just when it wants the uproar over the Prime Minister throwing a lifeline to her to go away. Which is excellent advice under the circumstances. Because the more Lynda Tabuya lashes out, the more the story gains legs.
There are a number of important points being lost amid the furore of Lynda-gate as the Queen of Tarts goes on the attack and tries to lay the blame for her scandalous conduct at the feet of Victor Lal and Alex Forward.
1/ This was not a “nude video”. That would have been shots of Lynda Tabuya unclothed on the beach at Leluvia – the resort her husband, Rob Semaan, co- owns with his business partner at Pacific Building Solutions, Michael Fairfax, on the Lomaiviti island owned by Ratu Epenesa Cakobau, the Vunivalu of Bau.
No, this was a pornographic video – of Lynda gyrating provocatively waving her “butt” and “bush” at the camera with a view to triggering sexual arousal, the definition of pornography. Which is why so many Fijians have been shocked that she would make a pornographic video when she is Co-Chair of the government’s Task Force on Pornography.
2/ Thousands of Fijians have now seen the video. But who is the person in the room with Lynda Tabuya – with a soccer game blaring in the background – who filmed the video? She says it was meant for her husband. But is it Rob Semaan who is filming the video? Or is it someone else so intimate with Lynda Tabuya that she flashes her extremities in the person’s face?
There’s been widespread speculation that the person is one of Lynda Tabuya’s lovers – an iTaukei member of the British Army. Was he filming it for Lynda to send to Rob Semaan? Are they in a relationship in which Rob gets off on his wife’s adulterous liaisons? It is entirely possible in the absence of any comment from Rob Semaan himself.
3/ Rob Semaan – whether he is still Lynda’s husband or not and that’s another story- could bring this entire episode to an end by issuing a public statement saying: ” Yes, that video was meant for me – the person Lynda has described as her husband – and it is a private matter that is no-one else’s goddam business”. But Rob Semaan pointedly hasn’t done that.
With the opportunity presented to him to side with his wife, he chooses instead to have associates tell Radio New Zealand that he “doesn’t want to get involved”. Is this the conduct of a man eager to come to the defence of his wife and clear her name in the court of public opinion? Evidently not. So the question remains: Who is the person filming this pornographic video?
4/ It is a nonsense for Lynda Tabuya to suggest that Victor Lal and Alexandra Forward leaked the clip. The person who leaked the video is the person who accessed it either from Lynda’s phone or the phone of the person who is on the other side of the camera as the Queen of Tarts shows off her ample assets.
Mere logic dictates that that person leaked the video to others who then shared it in a chain reaction that snowballed as the days and weeks progressed and more and more Fijians gained access to the clip. To the extent that the only people who haven’t seen it now are arguably those who don’t want to, so easy is it to access.
5/ Grubsheet personally received the clip from a number of people of our acquaintance – including a member of the RFMF and a staffer at a prominent NGO – and the same was happening all over Fiji.
Victor Lal and Alexandra Forward would have been in the same position. They were recipients of the leak, just as I was. But they didn’t leak anything. They weren’t in a position to access the phone that recorded the clip and neither was anyone else except the person who took it and leaked it. And Lynda herself.
If it was a crime to share the video having received it, hundreds of Fijians are guilty. It was, and is, a social media sensation. But as well as not being in a position to leak it, let’s examine just who Victor Lal and Alex Forwood shared it with.
6/ Having received his version of the clip from an informant, Victor Lal sent a copy to the Prime Minister, other senior ministers and Shamima Ali to alert them to its existence and seek comment on what Lynda Tabuya had done to add to the scandal of her shenanigans with Aseri Radrodro in Room 233. Lal was perfectly entitled as a journalist to do so. This was a minister in the government appearing in a pornographic video when she co-chaired the government’s Task Force on Pornography. And nothing could be more legitimate for a journalist to pursue the story.
In the case of Alexandra Forwood, she sent the video to the Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances of Barbara Malimali‘s appointment as FICAC Commissioner. This was also perfectly legitimate in the context of Lynda Tabuya’s statement that the video was for her “husband” when her close friend, Barbara Malimali, had halted an investigation into Tabuya’s allegedly false income declarations to the Electoral Office on the basis that she had been “divorced” in 2016. Malimali knows that Lynda Tabuya and Rob Semaan have continued to live as man and wife whatever “divorce” might have taken place. So his millions should clearly have been part of her declaration.
7/ Now, in a front page story in today’s Fiji Times, the Assistant Commissioner of Police Operations, Mesake Waqa, says the police have identified two suspects in the leaking of Lynda Tabuya’s video. He doesn’t say who they are but in an inside story in the Fiji Times, its reporter, Meri Radinibaravi, defames Victor Lal by identifying him as one of the leakers.
Mesake Waqa is way out of line doing anything more than merely confirming that the police are investigating the video. His reference to “two suspects” comes hot on the heels of Lynda Tabuya herself publicly identifying Victor Lal and Alex Forwood as having leaked the video and threatening them with legal action and even extradition.
It is time for the new Police Commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu, to bring his rogue officer into line. There is no evidence whatsoever that Victor Lal and Alex Forwood “leaked” the video. That suggests that they either had unlawful access to the phone that recorded it or the clip was given to them in confidence on the understanding they would keep it private and broke that understanding. None of that is true. Someone shared the video with them and they passed it on to others who had a legitimate interest in its contents – the Prime Minister in the case of Victor Lal and the COI in the case of Alex Forwood.
Indeed, after Victor Lal sent the clip to the PM, he fired Lynda Tabuya as the Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection. Which in itself lends credence to the fact that Victor Lal was acting in the public interest on top of his legitimate role as a journalist pursuing the story.
So the persecution of Victor Lal and Alex Forwood is an outrage. And it is high time for Rusiate Tudravu to tell his senior officers to stop fuelling the notion that they have a case to answer. If anyone is to be the subject of a police investigation, it must be the person who accessed Lynda Tabuya’s phone and made the clip public or, alternatively, the person who recorded it and failed to keep it confidential. Either way, the witch-hunt of Victor Lal and Alex Forwood must stop.
8/ Why is the Fiji Times making headlines with this story when it completely ignored Lynda Tabuya’s antics with Aseri Radrodro in Room 233 in August 2023? Is it being encouraged to do so to damage Tabuya in the lead-up to the 2026 election by giving oxygen to this story? It sure looks that way.
Cui bono, goes an old legal saying. Who benefits? Well any politician to whom Lynda Tabuya might represent a threat. Is someone making sure the story stays current knowing that the more it is aired, the more people will want to see the video and the more people are likely to be scandalised? That is entirely possible.
The Fiji Times promises another instalment of the saga in a week’s time. Oh great. For Lynda Tabuya, that means more focus on her scandalous conduct dressed up as faux indignation about an invasion of privacy. And more public debate into the foreseeable future about whether someone who engages in drug-taking and “brutal” sex with a fellow minister and then compounds it by making a pornographic video is a fit and proper person to be a minister and role model for the country.
Is Fred Wesley, the Fiji Times editor, as stupid as Lynda herself in thinking that all this continuing publicity assists her cause and the Coalition’s cause? Maybe. But for anyone with a healthy suspicion for the machinations of politics, this looks very much like a political power play. Someone wants this story to keep running and keep damaging Lynda Tabuya and the Prime Minister, her saviour. Now I wonder who that might be?
Who would want to see both Lynda Tabuya and Sitiveni Rabuka leave the political arena surrounded by the whiff of scandal to give them clear air for their own lunge for the top? What a bitter sting that would be.
And then more on Page 5, not page 3, that defames Victor Lal by identifying him as one of the suspect leakers when he clearly didn’t leak anything.
And we await next week’s instalment with bated breath.
A story with the legs to run and run all the way to election day.
The question really is, are any of the opposition smart enough to take the “enough rope” approach to Tabuya and Rabuka’s political careers?
The enough rope approach is a long game, and goes against the short sighted impulsive default of many in leadership in Fiji sadly.
Sadly, it doesn’t seem possible. We saw Inia Seruiratu appeal to the California state government to assist Fijian deportees seemingly unaware that immigration is a federal matter in the US and California has absolutely no jurisdiction.
God knows who is advising these people. But as you say, they just don’t seem smart enough to gain the political advantage.
Inia is a military person. Not the sharpest tool in the shed but a tool nonetheless.
It would have been better to not wade into areas he has zero knowledge of. But perhaps he is speaking to the itaukei community to later say “I tried, vote for me.”
Isn’t there a law in Fiji that makes it a crime to produce pornography of any kind? If there is, then shouldn’t Lydia be charged or sent to jail for producing or acting in a porn video?
In Fiji, pornography laws are primarily governed by Section 377 of the Crimes Decree, which deals with the trafficking of obscene publications. This includes the production, distribution, and exhibition of obscene materials, with penalties of up to five years imprisonment for offenders
So that means Lynda has committed a crime by producing porn. What a loser she is!
Good question to ask Bonnie Blue.
That’ll teach Bonnie Blue to threaten the local porn industry.
That is just one of the many ways how Fijians are denied quality products by banning superior foreign products and forcing the low quality local ones on the people instead.
We know in the animal farm some animals are more equal than others.
The law applies only to Tomu, Dike, and Hari. Thanks to our government and the region’s bestest judiciary.
https://osc.com.fj/image-based-abuse/
The online safety commison talks about a little. Not sure whether it is a crime. The OSC does mention ‘posting’ is a crime. And those posting without the content creators consent are also liable.
Wouldn’t know any better as not a lawyer.
We and the international community are witnessing an engineered erosion to protect self interests because it has gone to the dogs.
And it is painfully obvious that all this stems from SITIVENI RABUKA’S pi$$ poor leadership.
Frank Bainimarama never minced his words. The integrity of the offices that they took an oath to uphold, protect and serve was paramount.
The coalition is a circus, we have a paedophile clown for a president and his jester for a PM leading the cadre of f**ƙ-wits.
They can’t remove Lynda because she funded the campaigns of the majority of the PAP Cabinet Ministers.
This is the reason people have fake Facebook Accounts so that they can’t be extradited or falsely convicted by Rabukas Judiciary
Lesson learnt, want to send Videos to Rabukas Government to investigate or to post on social media do so from a fake account and it will serve its purpose
It’s sad when the State and its leadership excuse pornography and lewd behavior as a form of personal and targeted attack on the Queen of Tarts who should have been above reproach as the Minister for the most vulnerable – our women and children !
Rabuka is backing Lynda and has chosen to ignore the many women and church goers including our youth who feel betrayed by Lynda especially when she goes scot free again following her second public misdemeanor via her naked sexual provocation video; and despite having sex with a fellow minister Aseri Radrodro on a tax payer paid trip to Melbourne, two doors away from where Mrs Radrodro slept.
The Pornography Alliance People aka PAP are not bothered that Sainiana Radrodro is now working in the west away from her husband, obviously as she seeks time away from the shattered trust broken by the adultery of Lynda Tabuya the former Minister of Women and children with her husband .
Sadly there are many who watch and sympathize with Mrs Radrodro and the many women Lynda has trampled on and disempowered including Adi Elenoa Mara the wife of another serial adulterer Aisake Taito who is also one of Lynda’s victims; and Mrs Sulueti Rabuka herself not to mention Mrs Sera Vosarogo and others ! Lynda’s list of targets is long and made up of interesting adulterers.
So no amount of sugar coating by the Pornography Alliance People will work! Kemudou sa rui vakasisila ka veibeci!! Sa rauti keimami PAP! Keimami sa kida! Our you go next year and take your senile PM with you!
While I understand the salaciousness of this seemingly never ending saga, don’t you think it’s really serving as a distraction from the more serious questions we should be asking, like:
– why are there tax holidays for foreigners?
– who benefits from this and where’s the investigation?
– why has VAT gone up?
– why has the health system collapsed?
It is not about the salaciousness but standards of conduct in government, plus the hypocrisy, corruption and lies, including about her marital status. That’s not a distraction but a leitmotif of the absence of integrity of this government, which promised better standards of governance but has delivered worse.
First we deal with the leaders who are supposed to serve us and then we get to the lack of service there of ! In this case both the service and the leader are utterly pathetic .
Rabuka has a tendency to say it’s not easy working in a coalition of 3 parties we can’t develop rings quickly because we need each others consent . Bullshit !! He does things his way all the time saying it’s his prerogative LOL as PM!!
In any case Porn Alliamce Party has 21 members either as Ministers or Assistant Ministers. NFP has only 5, Sodelpa 3. The G9 also added to the numbers still sees PAP able to vote amongst the coalition on any matter and they will have the majority say. So please ask Rabuka to stop the lasulasu and off loading of the blame !! He is a liar and hasn’t delivered period !!
Out Rabuka you go in 2026 oops unless you rig elections as is now widely known by printing the ballot papers locally through your friends who own printing companies LOL!!
Don’t rule out the possibility of this being a publicity stunt as well although it’s unlikely but who knows.
Lynda thrives on things such as this and she uses such opportunities to seemingly gain sympathy by playing the victim card. Poor old (yep old and rusted) Lynda and her devious plans. The videos are an opportunity to show others that she still has it (that’s what she thinks) and is a “highly sought after commodity” available in the market. And knowing desperate horny itaukei lads out there, they’d be more than willing to access this free for all public property.
All the bullshit arguments about women’s rights and her right to privacy which is backed up by brain lacking women’s NGOs like Shamima and Nalini Singh who will break all moral and ethical codes to ensure a steady flow of donor funding.
It’s NOT Lynda’ rights or her right to privacy, the most important consideration is “what is in the greater public interest “. The greater public interest demands that gigolos, bit#hes , whores, and pimps stay out of politics and the public life.
When those Kadavu lasses won the beauty crowns, pride and praises flooded the media, Vanua, Lotu, Vuvale Koro, Tikina etc. from the whole province. But now all quiet! Thanks to Lynda for the provincial silence.
Lenora was fine until her endorsement of the MPs’ pay rise recommended by the committee led by her fellow Minister and Kadavu islander. Not to mention her dead silence on the Coalition’s ongoing misdeeds from Day 1. Brilliant, vocal and articulate when in the Opposition benches and who can forget her maiden speeches in both Opposition and Government. We see what politics can do to high fliers!
That leaves us with one crown winner who is hardly seen or heard in public but is known to be working hard and smart behind the scenes – Meri. Now she’s the real role model for our children and youth, and the crown winner that the province should actually be proud of.
Meri? Meri who?
Apologies, it’s Mere, not Meri. 2009 Hibiscus Queen, Mere Nailatikau. Class of her own!
Yes, agree that she is a class act. And so is Mere Rakuita (formerly Vuniwaqa ).
That was an excellent summation Graham —clear, concise, and well-structured. Your ability to break down complex legal processes into an easily digestible format is commendable.
It’s refreshing to see that here in NSW, a government minister caught up in a simple abuse of a government vehicle took responsibility for her actions and resigned. This demonstrates a level of accountability and integrity that should be the standard for any public officials. However, the stark contrast between this and the tolerence a Christian state headed by SLR show towards this unbelievable behavior—disgusting pornographic material Minister Tabuya in her high office of Government —is both appalling and unacceptable.
For a nation like Fiji, which proudly upholds its Christian values, it is beyond belief that such depravity is not only present but seemingly tolerated at the highest levels of governance. Leadership should be built on moral responsibility, and failing to condemn or act against such misconduct is a betrayal of public trust.
Morally, SLR you have lost the plot. Your party will not survive the next election.
Unfortunately morality in Fiji apply to the Vulagi only. If the perpetrator is itaukei he/she can get away with almost anything. Look at the commentaries on social media in the case of the air hostess who got raped. Itaukei commentators were quick to defend for the rapist.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Lynda is back with another portfolio.
If Lynda comes back as a minister, it would outrageous and disgusting.
Wonder if the NGOs will hold a candle light march to reclaim the night.
From NFP Bee-man is a disgrace. From PAP Lynda is a disgrace.
So are the boys and girls playing in the sandpit with the two daily comics hoping to bury our memory of Christopher Pryde?
The ongoing saga surrounding the leak of Lynda Tubuya’s personal video has taken another turn, with the Fiji Police now repeatedly narrowing their focus to two suspects, who were not present in the room.
However, the approach being taken raises serious questions about the competence of the investigation.
Fundamentally, there are only two logical sources for the leak: either Lynda herself or the person who recorded the video, both of which are being ignored. The leak couldn’t have originated from anyone else unless it was deliberately shared beyond that private setting. Therefore, the primary focus of the investigation should be on these two individuals present in the room. Any subsequent dissemination of the video is secondary to identifying the original source.
Another critical angle to consider is the possibility if there were additional individuals in the room at the time the video was taken. If this was a private moment meant only for personal consumption, why would there be an audience? If other individuals were present, it raises further questions about the nature of the recording and whether the video was deliberately staged or captured in a setting where multiple persons had access to it. These are fundamental questions that must be addressed by the Police in any serious investigation.
Instead of focusing on these core issues, the police appear to be pursuing a broader and potentially misguided inquiry. This raises concerns about misplaced priorities, especially given the rising crime rate in Fiji – a crisis that Biman Prasad recently downplayed as ” exaggerated.” The Fiji Police should be directing their resources toward addressing escalating crimes rather than engaging in an uncessarily prolonged investigation of a highly political case where the source of the leak should be clear.
Lynda’s response to the situation appears to be an attempt to deflect accountability by framing the issue solely as a violation of her privacy. While privacy concerns are valid, the fact remains that either Lynda or the individual present with her in the room was responsible for the initial circulation of the video. Seeking public sympathy doesn’t change the fundamental reality.
At its core, this situation highlights a broader issue, selective outrage and diversionary tactics being used to shift focus away from personal responsibility. The Police must apply logical investigative principles, address more pressing concerns facing the nation, and avoid being drawn into what is becoming a politically charged distraction.
The media can do better by highlighting the real issue – that is to focus on the people in the room, if any investigation is warranted – otherwise the Police shouldn’t waste time.
>>>>Another critical angle to consider is the possibility if there were additional individuals in the room at the time the video was taken<<<
The entire police force in the country has seen the videos (yes, plural) many times over. Which videos they are 'investigating' is neither here nor there.
Arrest and question the makers of these pornographic videos, including the embittered embattled imbecile queen of sluts. Question the biatch and the rest of them. Charge them for starters.
That would show impartiality investigating everyone involved in this sorry ass drama. Start at the beginning.
But no, police won't do this because they view these videos and play with themselves daily–likely both at this same time.
So the police have a jaundiced view already as their interest is in protecting the source of their daily entertainment who herself is playing victim.
The fact that the 'suspects' happen to be of Indo heritage completes the "let's get them" mentality.
However, good luck to the porn slut, the police, commissioner tudravu, and the rest of the cabal pursuing the matter "to bring then to task."
Go ahead, make proper fools of yourselves while you're at it and demonstrate beyond doubt your ingrained racism as the "murderer" helps you search for the "killers" – as it were.
Word of advice to Tudravu, while you got your inspector sleuth hat on, investigate 'you come alone, eh' Baiman, and several unsolved – cold murder cases, and how the rats could have eaten their way to two tonnes of cocaine out of four stored as evidence.
Those bastard rats must be frigging high.
To people near and dear to porn prone and drug addled slut, get her some help. Please.
Wow 👌 powerful man kere kere vedio plizzzzz
Fiji one reporting live nice na funding style vinaka fiji
Look at what the “kabawaqa” is saying. Little does she understand the minimum duty of care to uphold the integrity of the position as Minister in a credible government. This is what she told media
“She stated that the attackers’ sole purpose was to publicly humiliate, defame, and crucify her—to moral judge, character assassinate, and label her with unsavoury and demeaning names. Their goal, she said, was to make her lose the faith of those who voted for her, force her out of her ministerial role, remove her from Parliament, and strip her of her political party membership”.
She should have been charged by FICAC for misuse of public fund and bringing the government to disrepute, instead we are having a banana and defunct legal and judiciary services in Fiji.
Rabuka should take some blame also, this is because he knowingly took the “Kabawaqa” and put her in wrong ministry i.e. women and children. Conveniently, Rabuka moved out of the picture and leave her to defend herself. Even no Fijian media questioned Rabuka why he put her in the wrong ministry or why he had given her a senior ministers job