We are now a week out from the commencement of the Tribunal hearing into the allegations of misbehaviour against the DPP, Christopher Pryde, (Monday December 2), who was suspended an astonishing 20 months ago and is only now having his day in court. But will the hearing be going ahead? Because seven days out from its commencement, there are a great many questions that are yet to be answered about what is going to happen.
First and foremost is whether Christopher Pryde is even going to appear. Right from the start, the DPP has indicated his eagerness to have the allegations against him tested. But the unilateral and unlawful decision by the Judicial Services Commission nearly six months ago to suspend his salary has put a big question mark over whether he can afford to retain counsel to defend himself.
The tactic of the JSC – headed by the rogue Acting Chief Justice, Salesi Temo – has clearly been to send Christopher Pryde broke before he can have his day in court. It has now been more than four months since the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, told the media that the DPP was clearly entitled to continue to be paid. But that intervention has had no impact whatsoever on Salesi Temo and Christopher Pryde is presumably struggling to take care of his everyday needs, let alone pay expensive lawyers to defend him. And while he remains the DPP, he is unable to take alternative employment.
Why is the Acting Chief Justice being so intransigent? Why has he cut off the DPP’s oxygen in a crude attempt to try to force him to resign before a Tribunal hearing commences? We have yet to have an explanation from either Salesi Temo, Sitiveni Rabuka or his bristle-less “new broom” of an Attorney General – the ineffectual and self-righteous Graham Leung.
But could it have something to do with the Acting Chief Justice being determined to avoid having to appear before the Tribunal himself? Because according to sources in the criminal justice system, there are plans to call Salesi Temo, the former attorney general, Siromi Turaga, and Graham Leung as witnesses in the case. And if they are cross-examined under oath and there is any evidence of a conspiracy to remove Christopher Pryde on trumped up charges, the whole sorry edifice of the criminal justice system in Fiji will crumble.
The big question (or one of the big questions) a week out, is whether the tribunal hearing at the Veiuto court complex headed by Justice Anare Tuilevuka will be open to the media and the public like any other court hearing. When the suspended chief justice, Kamal Kumar, was about to face a tribunal hearing for misbehaviour a year ago, a ruling was made that the proceedings be conducted in open court.
In the event, Kamal Kumar died suddenly on the very day the Tribunal was scheduled to convene. But will Christopher Pryde’s hearing be conducted in open court with the media present? Will the likes of Salesi Temo, Siromi Turaga and Graham Leung, subject themselves to cross-examination with journalists, lawyers and human rights advocates present to record what they say? It isn’t yet clear. But if the case is to be conducted in open court, next Monday promises to be the biggest show in town for a long time.
Grubsheet reported back in September that the former president, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere – on the instructions of the JSC – had written to the Tribunal saying that the judges would “invite opinions from interested stakeholders” on what should happen to Christopher Pryde in relation to the two allegations against him – that he was seen in conversation with Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum at a Japanese Embassy function and that he made superannuation payments to himself without the authorisation of the JSC.
Christopher Pryde has made it clear that he has answers to both charges and will vigorously defend himself. But who are the “interested stakeholders” who have been invited to take part? And what role will their “opinions” have in the Tribunal’s judgment and its recommendation to the new President, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, about whether Christopher Pryde is guilty and should be dismissed or exonerated and reinstated? Questions, questions, questions. And so far precious few answers.
The one thing that can be said with absolute certainty is that the integrity of the ODPP has collapsed since Christopher Pryde was suspended. First came the debacle of John Rabuku being removed as Acting DPP because his appointment was illegal due to his professional misconduct. Then the debacle of him being reappointed as Deputy DPP when he is still guilty of professional misconduct. Followed by the debacle of him being seen socialising with the FICAC Commissioner, Barbara Malimali, when he is meant to be investigating her for abuse of office.
And then to cap it off has come the sensational weekend video of John Rabuku wearing a T- shirt with a horse on it singing while his ostensible boss – the Acting DPP, Nancy Tikoisuva – lolls drunkenly beside him while on official business at the ODPP’s annual conference. This video (see our previous posting) has caused a sensation but no move thus far to suspended either of these jokers for misbehaviour. And yet Christopher Pryde has had his name dragged through the mud, has had his income severed and has had to wait 20 months and counting for his day in court.
It is an absolute scandal. But this is the quality of the criminal justice system under the “New Order “. An absolute shambles presided over by misfits. What will happen next Monday, assuming the Tribunal hearing goes ahead? What’s your guess, Fiji? Can anyone – even our judges – be trusted to deliver justice? We shall soon see.
—————
The hearing timetable set by the former president, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere, including a section on “selected stakeholders” being asked for “their opinions”. Aren’t judges meant to rule on the evidence?
More than four months after the Prime Minister made front page news by saying that Christopher Pryde was entitled to continue to be paid, his salary is still suspended. So much for the PM’s credibility. The “Snake” simply cannot be trusted.
With the criminal justice system in disarray, the chief law officer of the state has been inexplicably absent from Fiji at the climate negotiations 14,500 kilometres away in Azerbaijan.
So what is the Attorney General, Graham Leung, doing to clear up the uncertainty about what is happening with the Pryde Tribunal? Maybe he will finally say something when he returns from Baku.
Yes, part of the bloated Fijian delegation to COP29 for reasons that have not been explained. We certainly don’t need a lawyer to tell us that the climate fight is being lost with Donald Trump’s America poised to withdraw from the process.
Salesi Temo is out of control and must be removed before he does any further damage. He is only acting and is not the substantive chief justice so what is to prevent him being replaced by someone else.
What about Anare Tuilevuka if Rabuka and Leung don’t want a vulagi as CJ? Temo is crazy and confidence in the entire judicial system is falling further every week.
Anyone can see that Pryde ran the ODPP better than these idiots. Reinstate him and get rid of them. Talk about a bunch of drunks and vulagi wannabes!!
The campaign to replace vulagi with iTaukei is already a disaster and who suffers the most? Ordinary iTaukei who come up against a corrupt and incompetent system.
What have Graham Leung and the rest of the Fijian delegation got to show for COP? Why did we have a delegation of 56 when the biggest Pacific island country Papua New Guinea didn’t go at all and said it was a waste of time? No-one in the mainstream media even asks.
There was some talk that Temo the wombat does not pass the test to qualify as CJ. This raises questions about every decision he makes in the judiciary and judgement he passes as the CJ.
If this is indeed the case, the legality of all his judgements can be challenged in Courts later and his decisions as CJ will need to be reversed once he is replaced.
In Pryde’s case, the tribunal isn’t sitting to determine whether he is guilty or not given the CJ has already made his decision and this is all a whitewash to pretend the law has been followed.
Pryde needs to understand this government and judiciary aren’t here to uphold the constitution and give him a fair go; the very constitution they ignore and are making every effort to remove and replace with their highly prejudicial version.
Although Baimaan claims that the entire COP crap is funded, ask him to confirm if the allowances and per diems are paid by Fijian tax payer funds. In addition to what the donor agencies provide, Baimaan and Co usually have these allowances topped up.
I think we all know that this whole drama unfolding is a farce. There is no way Pryde will get justice in Fiji under the current clowns and jokers in charge. There is one rule for the kaindia and vulagis and another for the kaiviti. Rabuka and his band of kalavos have infested this country with their terminal disease. This load of shit has to stop. The only road to total recovery is extermination of these rodents by whatever means possible and by whatever force necessary.
We won’t have to wait too long for the kaivitis to fight amongst themselves since the vulgaris no longer pose a threat. It’s only a matter of time when the self-proclaimed elite kaivitis will battle it out against the destitute kaivitis.
@ Tom Baker
Take two Panadol with a glass of water. It will fix your hallucinations and you will feel better in the morning.
Unfortunately, Thomas Baker isn’t alone in thinking that the iTaukei elite exists to enrich themselves, not advance the interests of their own people. In fact, it’s got to the stage where you can bet your boots on it.
Take a look at the clip of Rabuku, Tikoisuva and Kuruleca. Nothing iTaukei about any of them – vulagi clothes, vulagi songs, vulagi booze. All at the taxpayers expense when the majority of iTaukei live in abject poverty. And that’s an undisputed fact.
So GD the kai India and kai Jaina elite are not there to enrich themselves too?
Why is it only the i’taukei who are fault?
Dont be so cock-eyed.
Funnily enough, I can’t see any Indians or Chinese with the Three Stooges at their taxpayer-funded shindig. Maybe they were already under the table.
Wacol , you’re probably not old enough to remember our first Prine minister Ratu Mara. His exact words to golfers at Nadi were: “first the Kaivitis will ask Indians to leave ,then they’ll tell the Lauans and Rotumans to leave Fiji. ”
Those were his exact words when questioned about Butadroka and his daily mantra of “Indians out “.
@ Boutros
You were deceived by Mara. He was the guy who told Rabuka to coup the pro Indian Bavadra. Rabuka told the media that.
Wacol, your information is inaccurate. The coup was planned for 1982 elections after the Alliance party lost the 1977 elections after which they were still made the government by Ratu George Cakobau despite losing the elections. This was conveyed to me by the late Timoci Qionibaravi whose father Mosese was the foreign affairs minister in Alliance.
He said to me in a technical drawing class in 1982 that if NFP wins again there will be a takeover of government. The Alliance party had planned this in 1977 and fortunately they won, otherwise NFP would have been taken out.
Yes Mara and every Tomasi knew of the plan since 1977. It wasn’t against a pro Indian Bavadra. The coup was against Indians winning elections with the partnership of the Ba province. Bavadra was a decent gentleman from Viseisei, Vuda whom the kaicolos of Kubuna and Tovata couldn’t stand because he dared to challenge the Ratus and Adis.
Justice Tuilevuka, hmmmmm………………
Know something we don’t?
That’s the twisted mindset of the selected itaukei trolls who think that this current cabal have the goods to lead this country of out of this Zimbabwean utopia.
You got a pedo as head of the state, a PM who has no idea what’s going down around him in his government, you have a completely immoral justice system headed by an incompetent guy, you have a bonking, weed-smoking minister for women and children…shall we continue Wacol?
You obviously live in some utopian fantasy so enjoy your meds. 👍🏽
Fiji’s law and order system coupled with a mediocre justice framework has deeply disillusioned law-abiding citizens and investors. The reactive and disorganized approach to law enforcement has allowed serious issues in our society, such as rampant drug cases particularly infiltrating schools, escalating sexual and violent crimes, and low public trust in the police, to persist unchecked.
Added to this is a failing hospital system that doesn’t have essential supplies and doctors, a chronic shortage of skilled people, and a lack of investor confidence, all of these stifle economic growth and deepen the hardships faced by ordinary citizens grappling with the high cost of living.
The government’s dysfunction is further exposed by infighting among ministers ( Biman-Charan jeet on COP 29), a leadership vacuum under Rabuka, and growing instability within its ranks, which is affecting the overall governance of the country
This lack of unity and competence, coupled with systemic issues like selective justice, nepotism, cronyism, and a disregard for meritocracy, has eroded Fiji’s credibility as a regional leader. Instead, Fiji is becoming a laughing stock in the region.
It is all the fault of the previous government, even after 2 years – for your information.
It is either that or it is all the referee’s fault. It is definately not the fault of any of the incompetents, imbeciles and freeloaders elected by all the imbeciles and idiots living in Fiji. Fiji is full of them……………..I know. The sad part is they don’t know. And until they realise it, nothing will ever change. Can someone tell them please.