The Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, appears to have finally lost patience with the Queen of Tarts and Minister for Bonking and Weed, Lynda Tabuya, over her call for the death penalty to be reintroduced for drug traffickers, which he indicates has been made without consulting him and her other cabinet colleagues and has drawn widespread condemnation from human rights groups and the churches.
There has been so much posturing over recent months by Sitiveni Rabuka in relation to Lynda Tabuya that we cannot be sure that today’s front page story in the Fiji Sun marks a definite break in their relationship or the “Snake” is merely doing his usual slithering around in public as a prelude to no action being taken against her at all. But if it is true that she went out on a limb with her call for such a drastic response to the national drugs crisis that she has put a whole lot of the government’s critically important constituents offside, then maybe she has finally gone a step too far.
What are we to make of the PM’s comments about Lynda Tabuya to the Fiji Sun in Tonga during the lead-up to the Pacific Islands Forum? Perhaps nothing. Yet the Minister for Bonking and Weed has long been an albatross around the Coalition’s neck and it cannot go into the 2026 election with her as part of its team without inflicting a great deal of damage on its own credibility.
The same now applies to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Biman Prasad, who is clearly on the ropes and is lashing out with threats of legal action when politicians should ordinarily be able to endure the rough and tumble of politics without calling in the lawyers.
Grubsheet has chosen not to republish the explosive allegations being made by Victor Lal over at Fijileaks about the NFP leader’s alleged financial indiscretions simply because we are not in a position to verify them. But it is clear that Biman Prasad is extremely concerned about his reputation when his lawyers oblige the national broadcaster, FBC, to carry ads in today’s papers retracting and apologising for stories relating to the long-running saga of his alleged sexual harassment of the wife of one of his candidates at the last election.
Lynda Tabuya should have been dead meat politically long ago. But Biman Prasad is now also on the ropes because the grounds appear to being formulated for him to be designated a political liability for the Coalition. As Grubsheet has already reported, Manoa Kamikamica is agitating behind the scenes for Sitiveni Rabuka to remove Biman Prasad and install Kamikamica in the Finance portfolio. And Biman is so gormless that he doesn’t seem to understand that far from assisting his position, his legal action against the media is creating the perfect storm for his eventual demise.
Is this the beginning of the end for both Lynda Tabuya and Biman Prasad? Who knows. But the hard heads of the People’s Alliance are starting to cast their eyes towards the 2026 election. And anyone who is an electoral liability and an impediment to victory will eventually be in their sights.
Time was when Biman Prasad was a protected species because of the five seats the NFP brought to the Coalition. But not any longer with the implosion of FijiFirst. And word is reaching Grubsheet that “Baimann the Betrayer” is extremely worried about the prospect of a FICAC investigation into the financial dealings now being canvassed on Fijileaks.
Go onto Victor Lal’s website, Fiji, and assess these allegations for yourself.
Lawyers acting for Biman Prasad ( Richard Naidu?) extracting apologies in today’s print media.
As with journalists suing journalists, politicians suing the media has always been regarded as an extremely bad look. But evidently no-one can tell Baimann anything anymore .
So can there be death penalty given to every person who robs an Indian in Fiji?
Nah, a toothless tiger is he. Lynda will stay on. Endless utterances from him but scant action like rejecting DPP’s pay suspension. Then completely ignored by the Temo, Turaga, Tikoisuva and Leung cabal. He should prove us wrong.
He won’t sack Lynda. She has him by the short and curlies. She will tell him that she was just expressing a personal opinion…then show a bit of leg…with a wry sensual smile….with a subliminal.message…Rambo will quickly crumble.
The PM is a well known and entitled idiot. He has been for decades and he has proved it over again for decades. After all these decades he is now senile. Anyone who thinks that he has answers to Fiji’s problems is also an idiot. How many such people are there in Fiji.
“… definite break in their relationship or the “Snake” is merely doing his usual slithering around in public as a prelude to no action being taken against her at all. “
And Bob’s your uncle!
If you want success in your life, you don’t affiliate with unstable people with poor judgement. She is a train wreck and there is no good ending for him to keep her by his side.
She is a huge liability to him and to Fiji.
She is overstepping and knows no boundaries. She is a “ loose cannon”.
So many bright intelligent people that could help solve Fiji’s issues. He needs to get the best people. He doesn’t need fashions shows and posting everything they do. Just get to the business of solving the issues. Get someone eager to work and actually protect women and children.
You would think that politicians including Siti would be good at decision-making as that is their primary responsibility but in actual fact they and he too struggle with it.
There are only six possible responses to any situation that a politician might have to deal with. They can accept, reject, ignore, reframe, change, or prevaricate. What is worrying about Siti is his tendency to prevaricate, says one thing then you hear no more of it which leads to inaction and suggests a lack of competence in decision-making on his part.
Of all the options available to him, he usually chooses to prevaricate. The same goes for his two deputies, Bill Gavoka in the Fiji Airways charter saga, Manoa Sweet with the Walesi investigation, even FICAC with its long list of outstanding investigations and we seeing it too in the long-outstanding decision on an investigation into the glitch in vote counting in the last election.
Poor decision-making is paralysing our political process frustrating voters and eroding confidence in this Coalition Government. It needs to be fixed.
Siti needs to assert his authority as a leader and make some firm decisions for a change.
“Siti needs to assert his authority as a leader and make some firm decisions for a change.”
Please ! He is a absolute dickhead. If anyone thinks he can do anything for Fiji is deluded, just like the man himself. He is just too busy basking in the glory. Fiji and Fijians can lick his arse all they want. Nothing is going to happen for them. What has be done for Fiji in the last 37 years? How long does it take for people to identify an dickhead?
Don’t worry about Lynda Tabuya’ death penalty. She is the tip of the ice berg of sex scavenging that Fijian Judiciary/ justice ministry is into. Everyday a young aspiring woman is sex molested by Male perpetrators.
Lawyers acting for Biman are probably Adish Narayan etc. Biman controls FBC now, this is obvious. Niko Nawaikula clearly defamed FBC and Riyaz. FBC sued Niko for defamation. High Court got the facts wrong. Court of appeal overturned the decision. Niko then appealed the decision to the Supreme Court and low and behold, Temo’s name appears as one of the Judges who sat on the 3 member panel. He must have presided over the hearing too. They overturned the Court of Appeal decision and held that there was no defamation. FBC then proceeded to have Niko come on one of their talk shows – no apology given to him! Somewhere in the middle of all of this, Riyaz was charged by FICAC for filing defamation lawsuits while he was CEO FBC. This is how messed up things are. Hiroshi was an NFP candidate and his wife had lodged a police complaint against Biman which led to the police charging him. Chris had saved him as the charge was withdrawn – during election year! A defamation action had been filed by Biman in 2022 when FBC had reported the Hiroshi matters. This apology is possibly a result of a settlement in that case. Something came up in the papers – some lawyer had asked for more time to discuss settlement options outside of Court. Why can’t Biman just let go? What happened to the call for media freedom? Is he denying that he was charged? That a complaint was lodged against him? That the allegations were what they were reported to be? I remember seeing Hiroshi speak to the media and refer to the allegations. What was wrong about that? Other media outlets reported on the matter too. Why is FBC apologising? Why was only FBC sued by Biman? Those of us who keep an eye on the madness in the Fijian legal system and work closely with the Fiji Law Society can see that the independence that once existed is no longer there. The Police, DPP, Judiciary, constitutionally independent bodies are all working together shamelessly and blatantly. Unfortunately, the Fiji Law Society will not speak up because Wylie waits for concurrence from Butt Street (Munro Leys) before issuing any statements. Sheer madness. Wasted votes.
Reading between the lines, baimaan was dropped on his head at some point in his low life.
He lies like a rug.
“The news items related to the statements reported by the FBC concerning communications between Biman Prasad, Hiroshi Taniguchi who was a provisional candidate for NFP but dropped by the party AND Mrs Ari Shinojlma.”
So… this is what happens when you do not use punctuation marks and cannot write proper English.
Was Hiroshi dropped by the party AND his wife? His wife was a decision maker? HEY NFP LEADERSHIP, WHEN WAS SHE APPOINTED?
This apology is laughable! Hiroshi being dropped out is irrelevant to the subject matter. Wonder if Biman wrote the apology himself. The Professor is known to have poor speaking and writing skills.
It is a pity that the media cannot ask questions properly. There is so much more to ask Rabuka. Why did Aseri come out in defiance of rules and regulations of the Fiji Secondary Schools Rugby competition, demanding that a particular school play in one of the rugby games? Will Aseri also get a talking to by the Acting PM? What is Rabuka doing about Victor Lal’s revelations on Biman’s assets and failure to declare in his declarations to FEO since 2014? He concealed his assets for 10 bloody years! Deliberately withheld this information from FEO and the electorate for 10 years! Some time last year when Aiyaz was in Singapore for surgery, the Fiji Times published an article on its front page saying he has UNDISCLOSED WEALTH. There is no undisclosed wealth. There is no wealth. If there was wealth, the man would not be in Fiji going through caution interviews, charges, being threatened with more charges, spending nights in Totogo, pleading with the Courts to allow him to travel for medical reasons only for him to return to the same madness, having his applications declined, twice. He would be gone! Biman on the otherhand… What is Rabuka doing about him? Minister for Fisheries was promptly charged by FICAC. Why is FICAC dragging its feet when it comes to Biman? When it comes to Manoa? Why is the media only asking questions about Lynda? All Lynda will do is go around saying “they’re picking on me again, see they don’t ask questions about Biman, Aseri, Manoa etc”. And her voters will eat it all up. FK the media in this country. Media freedom my a$$!
Rabuka won’t do anything to Lynda, he is spineless when it comes to her. He is too busy sucking up to the Chinese.
As he sucks up he needs to look at the other Pacific Nations around him and what is happening to them. Where he is now (Tonga) is basically a China colony the only thing missing is the Chinese currency and PLA troops. Business and economic activity is run by the Chinese, as is the port.
As for Lynda her time as a Minister is slowly being eroded by her activities, wild statements and conduct. Given her legal background it is surprising she has gone in the directions she has taken. Perhaps the ‘Weed’ has clouded her mind and judgement?
Meanwhile Ministers continue to circle the globe and the Inflation Rate for Fiji i as at 31 July is 6.8% and the exodus of people from Fiji continues!
The “Death Penalty” will not apply to Lynda. In her political career or drug dealing. This is Fiji.
She can do anything.
She is Madam Megastar.
Graham, have just read your latest piece on Lynda Tabuya. You have aptly described LT as a modern day Jezebel. Rabuka and his Deputy PM Manoa fall into the category of the weak Biblical Ahab, in relation to LT and her influence over them. I think LT has gone out of control and seems to have no self awareness.
As for PM, I’m afraid I don’t trust what he has put out into the public domain, for his words are merely to appease the public sentiment. It is very likely that he and LT are talking behind the scenes and if LT is coming out the way she is currently doing on the death penalty,it’s because she knows that she has the PM’s support. The way the PM is behaving on the death penalty is reminiscent of his own handling of LT’s sordid sex and drug scandal, moreso when he knew the truth and deliberately chose to lie along with LT in the public domain.
Also, PM and his DPM Manoa (they not the only ones) are grateful to LT who was mad enough to initiate and go for the massive unjust pay increase, which has benefited the members of Parliament, plus the Speaker and the President on the hill. So having robbed the public treasury, the thieves are obliged to look after one another’s interest moreso the interest of LT, who came up with the extra- ordinary amount to rob from the people’s funds. As the saying goes – there is no honour among thieves, and so LT will keep her ministerial office and the PM will come up with some empty sweet nothings for the public consumption.
But I think things are not going to end well for the PM, because it seems to me the situation is degenerating into a case of the blind leading the blind aggravated by one of the blind (LT) spiralling into a self destructive path that will adversely and significantly, if not fatally impact on PM’s leadership.
Thank you for this. Like others, you are suggesting that this is all a bizarre pantomime and that the PM and Lynda Tabuya are in league with each other. If this is the case, then it is astonishingly cynical and these two are shamelessly manipulating the Fijian people in a manner that makes them both unfit for public office. Along with Manoa Kamikamica, if what you say it true.
Could Sitiveni Rabuka genuinely believe that the death penalty will make a jot of difference to the drug trade in Fiji? If so, he is as deluded as LT is. It is instructive that Pio Tikoduadua has publicly come out opposing the idea. He at least has some semblance of morality and a grasp of the facts. When he says drug traffickers must be “crushed”, he doesn’t mean killing them.
Standards of governance in Fiji have seriously gone through the floor with these jokers and if what you say is true, there is no hope whatsoever of a sensible outcome on this issue or anything else.