Of the nine people Justice David Ashton Lewis says he has recommended should face serious charges in his Commission of Inquiry Report, only one does he out publicly, albeit indirectly, in his sensational 4CRB interview – the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade, Manoa Kamikamica.
First, here’s what he said in his interview in relation to the “gang of nine” – their roles in installing the “corrupt” Barbara Malimali as FICAC Commissioner and their conduct at the Commission of Inquiry hearings:
“Now I found there were nine people who had done things such as: Lied under oath. That’s called perjury. I found that nine of them obstructed the course of justice. And that they also perverted the course of justice in the appointment of this particular woman. In other words, it became apparent in the investigation that this particular woman was shunted very quickly through the processes to get in. The question then arises, why? Why was she so important? Well the rest of the evidence shows she was so important because she would do evil people’s designs.
So now what’s happened is the Prime Minister is considering it. I have received word that he is going to act on all my recommendations in relation to nine people”.
While not naming any of the nine in this part of the interview, Judge Ashton-Lewis makes another reference further down to someone who can only be Manoa Kamikamica – the heir presumptive to Sitiveni Rabuka in the People’s Alliance who even before the last election, we know was agitating to be Party leader himself.
“Now there’s always going to be aggrieved people who think they can do it better. One of these people I identified was someone who, well they all smile at his face and stab him in the back if they get the chance and one of them is a wannabe prime minister. And he thinks he should be.
Well if Sitiveni Rabuka acts, he’s never going to be prime minister because I found disgraceful things that he was doing. It’s smiling to the Prime Minister, “I’m your greatest loyal man”. Well he wasn’t. And in law, I’m sure you’ve heard me say: “None protest their innocence so loudly as the guilty. None protest their honorability so loudly as the dishonourable. Well he fits into that category”.
Ouch. It is the most devastating of critiques. Manoa Kamikamica – in the words of a Supreme Court judge – is a “wannabe prime minister” who has done “disgraceful things”.
Presumably that includes going to FICAC and raising his own case with the former deputy commissioner, Francis Puleiwai – something that is already on the public record and that Puleiwai says she found confronting. She was investigating Kamikamica on a complaint from the Elections Office when suddenly the Deputy Prime Minister was across the desk from her at FICAC headquarters asking her about his own case.
Manoa Kamikamica has had his credibility shredded by Justice Ashton Lewis and along with the other eight individuals he recommends be charged, is facing further investigation, the possibility of criminal charges and a potential jail sentence.
It is the end of his ambition to be PAP leader. Stranger things have happened in Fiji, of course, but being labelled “disgraceful” by a Supreme Court judge isn’t usually regarded as a fast-track to high office generally and especially the position of prime minister.
Not surprisingly, Manoa Kamikamica is mightily aggrieved and is fighting back, first with this extraordinary response on Facebook yesterday.
Memo Manoa:
- What has it got to do with your family? You illustrious lineage or your wife? They are comments about YOU.
- Who cares how hard you have worked to get where you are? It is about the reference the Judge has made to your conduct.
- So you’re a “high performer”? O vinaka. You also have a very high opinion of yourself. And you are certainly a high performer when it comes to going to FICAC and confronting those investigating you face-to-face, using the authority of your high office to try to intimidate them.
- And finally, aren’t you just proving the Judge’s point when you again – yet again – protest your 100 per cent loyalty to the Prime Minister? The bit about people who “smile at his face and stab him in the back”? Qori.
Manoa Kamikamica’s response reeks of smug self-justification and self-satisfaction. And his attack on the Judge as being “pathetic and ignorant” completely glosses over the fact that he has been subjected to scrutiny at a judicial level.
The Deputy Prime Minister has been asked to swear on oath as to the veracity of his own affidavit, has been cross examined and found wanting. And his self-righteous dismissal of what are extremely serious allegations again underlines that Kamikamica is completely unfit for high office.
He carries over the tone of indignation in this morning’s media coverage. It is the same fast and loose knee-jerk response that Kamikamica displayed when Grubsheet detailed serious grounds for him never to become prime minister and he dismissed me, without any evidence, of being an alcoholic.
His response today is conclusive proof that he will never be prime minister. The damage is already done.
—————
From the Fiji Times...
And from the Fiji Sun...
“None protest their innocence so loudly as the guilty. None protest their honorability so loudly as the dishonourable.”
Hear hear 👏🏻!!
Well done, Judge.
All the Crocodiles are singing now “it wasn’t me”.
Ol Sweetness not too happy about being called a ‘wannabe.’
I have my doubts too. Might be the other crocodile over at Tourism. You can just hear it in his smile.
Hell, at this stage, I wouldn’t put it past any of those backstabbing leeches he has around him.
In his 2010 memoir, Lazarus Rising, former Australian Prime Minister John Howard reflects on his professional relationship with his long-time Treasurer, Peter Costello. Howard portrays Costello as “an elitist who couldn’t connect with ordinary Australians.” He criticizes Costello’s approach to leadership succession, describing his efforts to assume the prime ministership as those of a “rank amateur.”
Every time ‘Sweetie’ opens his mouth, it’s amateur hour!
Checkered Manoa, self praise is not a recommendation.
Do not believe your own hype!
You are the same crocodile who said you’ll work harder if you got paid more!
We can just as easily guess Justice Ashton-Lewis was referencing you when he said: no one defends their honor louder than the dishonorable.
Hahaha! 🤣
Manoa has no integrity, the so called achievements he talks about regarding Cannabis, Google, Star link and Strategic Plan were all introduced by FijiFirst. He is a moron. Even his Facebook post yesterday had grammatical errors. A DPM with the written skill of a Year 10 student.
Following links attached to prove what Manoa calls progress was already being done by FFG;
https://www.fiji.gov.fj/Media-Centre/News/STARLINK-SHOWS-INTEREST-IN-ESTABLISHING-OPERATIONS
https://fijisun.com.fj/2022/04/07/10000-more-fijians-to-be-connected-to-electricity/
https://www.fijivillage.com/news/Vanua-Levu-is-now-a-site-for-the-BPO-sector—Sayed-Khaiyum-f548rx/
https://www.fijivillage.com/news/we-are-only-talking-about-industrial-hemp-and-not-medicinal-hemp–acting-pm-5rfx48/
Manoa isn’t a high achiever but a high flyer liar. He was the same person telling ASK to stop promoting industrial hemp but now is fully supporting it.
Double standards and hypocrisy is high with this fella. All talk no action. Riding on the coattails of the FijiFirst government.
They said they’d fish out the crocodiles…
But now the net’s tangled with the very hands that cast it.
The report?
Still swimming in delays.
Pressure rising like a pot on boil—
And suddenly the Supreme Court is the new pond.
“Let’s bring back the 1997 Constitution!” they say—
Not because it’s better, but because it’s safer.
Safer… for them.
Forget justice. Forget reform.
We’re watching a legal escape room…
where the prize is power, and the puzzle is how to erase accountability.
The Chiefs want back their thrones.
The media? Whispering lullabies when we need alarms.
But we, the people, still have one line in the sand:
Section 131.
The RFMF.
“Uphold the rule of law,” the Commander said.
“Stick to the Constitution,” he reminded.
So stick to it we must.
Because if we let them rewrite truth—
just to keep the crocodiles safe—
Then we were never draining the swamp.
We were just building them a spa.
Manoa was not named by the Judge in his radio interview. Manoa is assuming he is the one.
Yes, Manoa is so dumb that he outed himself.
Yep. First rule of politics – do not react to allegations that don’t name you directly, dummy!
The Smiling Snake and the Commission’s Wake
There once was a chap, a Prime Minister wannabe,
With a grin so wide, as wide as the sea.
He’d smile at your face, so charming, so slick,
But behind your back?—a political trick.
In the halls of power, where secrets reside,
He and eight cronies took a slippery ride.
Under oath they stood, with fingers crossed tight,
Till the Commission of Inquiry shed harsh daylight.
“Oh, what a show!” the nation did cry,
As lies piled up, stacked to the sky.
The COI revealed their cunning charade,
Like a bad soap opera, but with more tirade.
Where is our country, with leaders so sly?
Who smile and deceive with a wink of the eye?
Prime Minister Rabuka, the nation implores,
Unveil the report, open those doors!
For truth is the compass, the light in the dark,
Not smiling snakes playing their sly little lark.
So here’s to the day when justice is served,
And the nation’s trust is truly preserved
“Cherry”, you really are terrific at this. 🙂
Brilliant!
This Cherry takes the cake!
Rabuka had all this planned long before the COI. He strategically convinced 9 FF party members to join his club, gave them Ministerial portfolios and secured their backing and loyalty to him.
The COI was established to identify and cull the crocodiles within his party who are out to dethrone him.
Rabuka has tasted power after 3 decades and he isn’t going to give up that throne so easily nor will he be a victim of “Brutus”.
It’s only a matter of time before we see some of these dimwits being investigated and charged. Rabuka may even offer them a “way out” through voluntary resignation. But either way, the days of some of clowns in this circus are numbered.
Pote 😉
Fiji has three deputy prime ministers and i am sure they all have aspirations for higher office. One very poignant statement made by Commissioner was that those who protest the loudest have much to lose, in other words they are guilty.
So mk could not stay quiet and let the other two also feel the heat? He is out and proud that he is wannabe PM….🤭
Pote dina!
MK snatched defeat from the jaws of victory! Haha!
This dunderhead likes to think of himself as brilliant, “high performer,” yet makes a huge blunder from a losing position.
Reminds one of the saying about a fool and his mouth removing all doubt.
Couldn’t have happened to a nicer brilliant high performing strategic thinker. Checkmate.
Many had realized what clay Kamikamica was carved from when his wife openly started selling him to prospectors once he became Deputy PM.Promising influence and financial gains, he was prostituted by his partner.
It doesn’t matter if the common Fijians survive on bread and noodles as long as their ethno-nationalist masters are well fattened. The low IQ, uneducated and brainwashed Fijian will see a positive in it.
Continue to vote for thieves and make you all pay your taxes.
All the “crocodiles”—and the name of the “wannabe Prime Minister”—will surface once the report is made public.
It’s no surprise that some individuals are already getting defensive, despite Justice Lewis not having named anyone directly.
The report must be released urgently to prevent speculation and rumor-mongering.
What is clear, however, is that Justice Lewis unequivocally stated that nine individuals lied under oath and obstructed the course of justice, in relation to the appointment of the FICAC Commissioner.
Meanwhile Charlie ‘Fat Boy’ Charters had taken up the cudgel for Kamikamica and ridiculing GD on his FB page.
“ POTE …
Graham Davis has turned his Qorvis-trained brain towards cleaning up the credibility of Judge David Ashton-Lewis and the whole Alex Forwood, Rajendra Chaudhry COI project.
He has extracted the meat of the controversial Radio 4CRB interviews and run this as a transcript on his website, as if to re-remind readers what this is all REALLY about.
There’s only one problem.
Quite reasonably, he edited down the content from two episodes each of 20-plus minutes of rambling, down to a much tighter 1200 words.
He announces to readers: ‘So to follow is a transcript of David Ashton-Lewis judgement on Barbara Malimali in his radio interview …’
Readers expecting that whatever words remain are Ashton-Lewis’s actual words in the correct order, in other words an accurate transcript that has not been manipulated, will be shocked to discover what the Walkley Award-winning journalist has done to buff up Project Ashton-Lewis.
1. Davis’s version: ‘I was asked to sit on a commission …’
2. What Ashton-Lewis actually said on the podcast: ‘I was asked if I would sit on a Royal Commission …’
Strange how the wildly inaccurate ‘Royal’ did not make it through to the final cut. It was one of at least four incorrect uses of the word ‘Royal’ by Ashton-Lewis to describe the Commission that he led. No ‘Royal’ made it into any of the Davis supercut.
Quite reasonably chunks of paragraphs were removed [ie Ashton-Lewis talks at length about the different robes in the different courts].
But one paragraph in particular was striking. In Graham Davis’ version of a hugely consequential block of text is removed even though it falls right in the middle of a critical passage and features one of the key figures in the COI – Janet Mason.
At 11.20 on the May 29 podcast, Ashton-Lewis is reported by Graham Davis in his transcript as saying: ‘… you start getting affidavits from all the people who are important and the commissioner says “I want to hear you”. [edit] … so we went from five witnesses …’ and then Ashton-Lewis’ narrative continues onwards.
What is missing at the ‘[edit]’ point is the following series of assertions by Ashton-Lewis that Davis did not feel his readers needed in the context of the bigger battle against his enemies, [sorry] the scourge of corruption.
This is what Ashton-Lewis said verbatim.
Graham Davis version: ‘… you start getting affidavits from all the people who are important and the commissioner says “I want to hear you” …
Missing paragaphs: … ‘So you get affidavits from them and the commissioner, then you have a person … if people follow this type of thing that we have in Australia will hear Counsel Assisting the Commission.
‘Normally counsel assisting a Royal Commission is a King’s Counsel. I had a King’s Counsel from New Zealand and she was assisting me. She was 48. She stood about five foot tall but she was a pocket rocket. She was arguably one of the best barristers I have ever worked with in 50 years in the law’.
Graham Davis version continues … ‘so we went from five witnesses etc.’
These paragraphs, that Davis also decided as editor in chief that his readers did not need to read, contain at least two verifiably false claims that Davis will have understood as gravely undermining the perception of Ashton-Lewis’ grip on reality:
– this was never a Royal Commission (or Presidential Commission)
– Ms Mason is not a King’s Counsel
Seems like there is a disturbance in the Force.”
Charlie Charters is a Yorkshire twit who has decided to line up with the “evil” forces opposed to the COI. At every point of my own transcript I indicate where there is an “Edit”. It is for brevity and to get to the point.
We can expect that Charlie will do everything possible to discredit the Judge and the COI process. He is trying to protect his buddies, Wylie Clarke and Richard Naidu. The same person who launched a decade-long vendetta against Christopher Pryde for prosecuting Charlie’s mother-in-law, Mere Samisoni, after she had lent her car to ethno-nationalists who conspired to burn down Suva.
As Matt Wilson observed to me a couple of years back. “Charlie is jealous of your writing ability and influence”. Sorry, Charlie. You are on the wrong side of history. Again. But do go on. Your agenda is becoming increasingly clear. To protect wrongdoing and attack those who support transparency and accountability.
Ta-ra, old bean. Have another Old Peculier! (The local beer in Yorkshire)
As you all know, I am banned from Facebook. But I’d appreciate anyone who can to post this response on my behalf to the Yorkshire Twit.
Hi Graham,
I tried to post your response to the Yorkshire Twit but he must have turned off the comment section.
Best regards.
What a shame. The hypocrite. The expectation of free expression for him on other sites. Censorship on his own.
People ask
What does the slang “twit” mean?
A silly annoying person.
That’s our Charlie.
Did the learned judge named any 9 culprits in the interview in Gold coast?
I did not hear any names being mentioned in his interview, so why is Manoa Kamikamica jumping the gun already? A sign of panic, GUILT, and anxiety of the impacts of the report?
The COI is not only for the 9 culprits but for every citizens of Fiji to learn something from it WHICH is to be obedient to the LAW of the LANDS AND THE PEOPLE OF FIJI AND GOVERNED OUR CITIZENS WITH JUSTICE AND FAIRNESS!
If MK is not happy then wait for the COI report to be released and see if his name is really there – the other smiling assassins are of course the Minister of Tourism and the Minister of PAISA!
PLEASE PM-SLR, RELEASE THE COI NOW and lets see the culprits who have been corrupting our beloved Fiji for the last 3 years!
Manoa jumped too early. Having listened to the interview, Justice DAL at no point mentioned Manoa by name. In fact, he didn’t mention any of the ministers who are mentioned and/or implicated in the report.
Yet, Manoa chose to assume it was him who was being singled out as the wannabe PM. Why haven’t Biman or Gavoka come out protesting? For all we/they know, DAL could have been referring to one of them. He could even have been alluding to another minister altogether.
As usual, Manoa jumped too quickly and spread his legs further than his sulu will cover his modesty and revealed too much to the public.
I will point out one interesting fact which DAL stated during the interview:
“…only four people, now I’m told it’s been leaked and I’m sure it has and I think I know where it’s been leaked from…”
If DAL knows the report has been leaked and he knows who leaked it, the question now is, who has the leaked unredacted copy and what do they intend to do with it? Given that it is a powerful dynamite in the hands of anyone who has it, they could easily bring down the government if they were to leak/release it on any of the public domains on the Internet used to expose such issues.
Only time will tell, and we can only hope that the person(s) will upload a copy online and send the link to all the media outlets in Fiji and the Pacific.
As Fox Mulder says: the truth is out there…
Self-incrimination at its finest!!!!! Crikey…lol!!
CumCum is in the poopoo now – his name is poo. The judge didn’t insult your family you dumbo. You have disgraced your family and the legacy built by your Honourable Father.
Be a man and resign.
Manoa needs a silver bullet as vampires like him hide behind their wife’s big skirt plotting. He is Gollum from Lord of the rings. He wants the ring of power but looks like his own ring could be in danger as Naboro is brutal.
Isa Manoa, your career over. Your high performance might have been affected by the wrong pills, it happens to men 50+.
It’s not too late for these so called intelligent politicians and judicial officers to learn from all this. Get properly qualified and impartial lawyers from overseas, even Sri Lanka, if no other takers. Start with Pryde. Restore some semblance of fairness and independence..
Politics, Law, Ethics, and Morality: A Critical Examination of Power and Accountability in Fiji’s Leadership Crisis
The relationship between politics, law, ethics, and morality has always been complex and, at times, dangerously fragile. In liberal democracies, these spheres are expected to coexist in a dynamic equilibrium where the law curbs political excesses, ethics guides political judgment, and morality underpins public trust. Yet, when this balance collapses—when personal ambition overrides legal norms, and when power is sought through questionable means—nations are forced to reckon with profound crises of governance and legitimacy. The explosive revelations surrounding Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica, as brought to light by Justice David Ashton Lewis, present a chilling case study of this very collapse.
In a damning interview, Justice Lewis alleged that nine individuals—including Kamikamica—engaged in acts such as perjury, obstruction, and perversion of justice, all connected to the controversial appointment of Barbara Malimali as FICAC Commissioner. Although the judge stops short of naming the nine outright, he delivers a searing character assassination of a “wannabe prime minister” who is disloyal, deceitful, and unfit for office. The description, by all contextual clues, points squarely at Kamikamica, a man once considered the heir to Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s political legacy.
The first question this saga raises is political: What happens when ambition supersedes duty? Politics, in its noblest form, is about service. Leaders are chosen to represent public interests, not to orchestrate clandestine maneuvers that subvert justice. If the allegations are true, then Kamikamica’s actions exemplify a distortion of politics into personal theatre, where the rules are bent in pursuit of power. This betrayal of public trust does not just stain the individual but risks contaminating the entire democratic apparatus. Once the public perceives that politics is nothing more than a game of deceit and self-interest, the legitimacy of all institutions begins to erode.
The second dimension, of course, is legal. Justice Lewis’s claims carry immense weight—not just because of their content, but because of his position. A sitting Supreme Court judge accusing a sitting Deputy Prime Minister of disgraceful conduct is seismic. If substantiated, the implications are not just reputational—they are criminal. The reported attempt by Kamikamica to question FICAC’s former deputy commissioner about his own investigation borders dangerously on obstruction of justice. It is a breach of procedural integrity, one that undermines the independence of investigative bodies and violates the core principle that no one is above the law.
Here, ethics becomes critical. Political ethics is not merely about staying within legal boundaries; it is about upholding the spirit of fairness, impartiality, and accountability. Even in the absence of criminal liability, it is ethically indefensible for a high-ranking public official to personally intervene in their own legal scrutiny. This act, if accurately reported, represents a gross ethical lapse that reflects a broader cultural issue—where power is misused not to lead, but to shield.
Which brings us to morality—the most subjective, yet perhaps most important layer. Morality is what binds a society when laws falter and political systems buckle. A morally upright leader does not just follow rules; they embody the values those rules were designed to protect—humility, integrity, service. When Justice Lewis stated, “None protest their honorability so loudly as the dishonourable,” he struck a moral chord. He was exposing the hollow theatre of respectability that too often masks political rot. This moral failing, more than the legal implications, is what may ultimately end Kamikamica’s ambitions.
But this affair also poses a deeper moral challenge for Fiji itself. How does a society respond when its leaders fall short? Do citizens retreat into apathy, assuming that corruption is inevitable? Or do they demand reform, transparency, and a higher standard for those in office? The answer to that question will determine not just Kamikamica’s fate, but Fiji’s political trajectory for years to come.
Justice Ashton Lewis’s interview is more than just a judicial commentary—it is a call to national reflection. It invites every Fijian to reconsider what leadership means, what justice demands, and what kind of future the country deserves. If the law proceeds as recommended, it will send a strong message that no ambition, however noble in disguise, can excuse betrayal of public trust. And if Kamikamica and others are indeed found guilty, the accountability must be swift, firm, and visible—not as retribution, but as restoration of faith in the system.
In the end, the Kamikamica affair is not just a personal downfall—it is a public lesson. It warns that when politics loses its ethical compass, when law is treated as an inconvenience, and when morality is sacrificed at the altar of power, nations do not simply lose leaders. They lose their way. And finding that way back requires not just new laws or new politicians—but a renewed commitment to truth, justice, and the values that hold democracies together.
Well said. Some people have lost sight of what is important here, including, regrettably, the nation’s lawyers in private practice as represented by the legally and morally bankrupt Fiji Law Society. More on this tomorrow.
Vinnie, are you single? Your thinking excites me.
Thank you, Graham. I completely agree—and your point about the Fiji Law Society is a critical one. When those entrusted with upholding the law begin to rationalize political misconduct, the damage runs even deeper. Looking forward to your insights tomorrow.
How many of Fijian voters who may be concerned or interested in COI report. ?
Do anyone can think about a itaukei selling cassava on a roadside concerned,
A kava and cabbage market vendor, a villager in Cakaudrove,Macuata,Naitasiri or Namosi.
A bhaya working as a driver or a laborer may be concerned.
Sulu,tshirts,balloons can persuade many Fijians to vote for someone.
Not a COI report.
This is how Fijis democracy is shaped.
Totally different from other countries.
This is another report and is just a number.
People are spilling petrol from left ,right and centre.
Once petrol finishes, fire dies down.
End of the line Manoa – pack your bags with your sidekick and go back to your village – your high performance may work there – insult to your family name – your father would be turning in his grave – maybe you need to Sasa on your bum or flip flop on your head – it’s got to one of those parts of your body making such ludicrous calls.
Even late Steve Irwin’s entire family ( crocodile hunters ) can’t save you Manoa – you have really self destructed- your mate Parmesh Sharma in NZ has a spare room if you want, he is the most disliked Indian in nz (joint with Biman) and you have now become the least trusted and generally frowned upon i taukei worldwide thanks to GD exposure – stop acting like you and your wife’s shit doesn’t stink and enough of pretending you are a smart Fijian.
Crocodile Duncedee.
Confucius say, a man who leaps off cliff jumps to conclusions.
Manoa is a most (Eds. word redacted) politician. A smiling assassin. Someone should ask him what happened to the Grace Road and Walesi investigation he was harping on about. To save face he is busy defending himself but everyone knows his truth now. He better resign.
In addition to the pending Grace Road and Walesi investigation reports, where is the Showcase Ferris wheel investigation report from Cabinet colleague, Agni? In contrast, Agni’s PS Nemani recently blasted Fiji FA for appointing drug convict Musa as a Vice-President. Great governance stance, PS!
William Parkinson’s fijivillage hardly reported the ferris wheel incident, compared to the other media outlets.
The fatal ferris wheel incident happened two Showcases ago and, as described by fijivillage just yesterday, the “Bigger and Better” Showcase 2025 will start next week.
https://www.fijivillage.com/news/Fiji-Showcase-2025-will-be-bigger-and-better–TEC-Manager-5rfx48/
Watch out, Fiji, as fijivillage and their other co-organizers will be neither responsible for nor report on any fatal or harmful incidents happening at all future Showcase events.
Sadly Manoa set out from day one expecting to take over from Rabuka by 2023 as PM. Hence he influenced the appointment of PSC Chairman his uncle Luke Rokovada who in turn appointed PS’s like Selina Kuruleca, CEO’s like AFL’s Mesake Nawari; Board members and the likes to be in strategic leadership and decision making positions.
Manoa was assisted by Tanya Waqanika; Emele Jale; Lynda Tabuya; Nancy Tikoisuva; Nemani Tuifagalele and a few others.
These lot will set up their own political party.
It will be called The Opportunists Party 🎉
God bless!!