The Chair of the Judicial Services Commission, the Acting Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, has been humiliated in spectacular fashion by public comments by the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, that the JSC was wrong to cut off the salary of the suspended DPP, Christopher Pryde, before a Tribunal hearing is held into the allegations of misbehaviour against him.
Facing a media and diplomatic storm, the Prime Minister says he wasn’t aware of the Acting CJ’s decision to sever Christopher Pryde’s income in violation of the Constitution and he will be talking to him about it.
Justice Temo is on the pubic record as having said he doesn’t have to take notice of the PM or anyone else. But his position is untenable. And if he doesn’t restore the DPP’s salary, it should clearly be the trigger for his removal.
He has not only embarrassed the government and the PM as Foreign Minister by creating a diplomatic incident with New Zealand but has sorely embarrassed the Head of State – the President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere – who Temo advised to send Christopher Pryde a letter informing him his salary was being suspended. The President is now in the position of having to send another letter to the DPP informing him that his salary is being reinstated.
We don’t know what representations the New Zealand government has made to Fiji after Christopher Pryde appealed to the NZ Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, to raise his case with Rabuka, his opposite number. But this is now a big story in NZ as well as Fiji and a severe embarrassment to the nation as a whole. If Justice Temo believed he would be able to violate the supreme law in Fiji with impunity, then he is very much mistaken.
As Grubsheet has been saying repeatedly for weeks, Salesi Temo is unfit to remain as Acting Chief Justice and must be removed. The Prime Minister also needs a lesson in legal etiquette. He says Christopher Pryde’s salary should be paid until he is removed. “Until he is removed” should surely be “IF he is removed”. Because Sitiveni Rabuka’s choice of words indicates that he has prejudged the Tribunal hearing into whether the DPP misbehaved in the first place. And this too is unacceptable.
What a farce.
The rest of the Fiji Village story is a comprehensive recitation of Christopher Pryde’s letter to Winston Peters yesterday, which you can find here by clinking the link.
I don’t think this is a diplomatic storm or a diplomatic incident.
Was Fiji’s ambassador to NZ called in for dress down by the NZ Government?
It does not meet the test of what you call a diplomatic storm or a diplomatic incident.
Will NZ ask Fiji’s ambassador to NZ to return to Fiji and has NZ recalled its ambassador to Fiji?
Highly unlikely and if that happens then yes it’s a diplomatic storm.
You always do seem to exaggerate things.
Yes Pryde has a legit concern but for now it’s not a diplomatic or a storm.
Sometimes you need to take a chill pill.
And you need to read what I’ve written. “Facing a media and diplomatic storm”. Not a storm that is actually happening.
Why do you think they have caved in within just 24 hours? Because they didn’t have a diplomatic leg to stand on. What the Acting CJ did was illegal and Rabuka will have been reminded of the potential consequences of doubling down.
I have established that the PM and Winston Peters have regular personal communication and a friendly relationship. Ergo, it is highly likely that a friendly reminder will have been given about the potential consequences for confidence in Fiji by other Kiwis working in the country.
Your continual knee-jerk defence of these idiots is becoming increasingly tiresome, as is your regular personal attacks on me. I will feel free to exercise my right not to post your comments if this nonsense continues. And if you don’t like that, bugger off.
This Rajiv Sharma is a pain in the ar$.
The guy not understand simple English or what!
He should just stick to Fiji Times for his feed.
Off you go Rajiv. Your level of English sits at Fiji Times.
Feel ashamed to read this fella Rajivs comments, obviously an Apologist and chumcha- slave- to Baimaan and his gang who have sold their soul for their own decisions personal gain, his Comments carry no weight as far as majority of Fiji indians are concerned, so my advise to you is- Carry on enjoying your duck curry and third grade fiji made Liqour with Baimaan, won’t last too long so lick all you can before he farts and shits on your face !
GD, I do empathize with you about dealing with the rajivs and joes on these pages. And have expressed similar sentiments about the nuisance value of their write-ins add here.
Please keep your pages open to try to accomodate all view points no matter how annoying and tedious. And ignorance, racism, and constant bootlicking from them. Plus they dont do history or irony well. SLR booted out the indian high commissioner in 1987, well, for being indian. You gots to let them prove themselves over and over. Lol!
Why? These demonstrable f*ckwits represent the real vanua- the large idiot society of self admiration and self preservation that Fiji so proudly relies on for progress.
Not all may be familiar that diplomacy is an art. Gently leaning on any aid reliant neighbor will get their neighbor’s attention pronto, and keep the five eyes happy and the check books open.
Until he is removed….oops!
Re-instate the salary…oops!
El presidenti writes a letter-oops! On the red suited clown’s orders…oops!
El pesidenti writes another letter saying, oops!
Appointment of unqualified A/DPP…oops!
Repeat the above last a/dpp…oops!
Let’s hear it from the Australia-graduated Joe. No doubt he has education to school us all with his superior and bested itaukei reasoning.
The weeping lady must be drowning in her silent tears now.
Like I have said before, the judgement is preconceived and predetermined under this governmrnt and then all the lackeys must work to see that the predetermined outcome is achieved by hook or by crooks. The PM is no different and has been caught out.
But then, this is Fiji. It is full of God-fearing people who seem to be more like monkeys and clowns in a circus.
Probably had a call from the New Zealand High Commission already.
Rabuka has compromised the country and the law of the land by being the portfolio minister for foreign affairs.
He is his worst enemy.
Damage is done. Investor confidence has eroded.
Total shambles! The left arm doesn’t know what the right arm is doing. The justice system in Fiji has become a laughing stock that includes the PM who doesn’t seem to know what the hell is going on in some of the most sensitive contemporary politico-social issues under his watch. What a sad situation!
Pull up your socks Fiji.
This is gross negligence of protocols and procedures of law.
Total embarrassment and abuse of power.
Shame on the government of Fiji.
Pryde is not going anywhere Rabuka.
You are.
Your time is limited.
You mate are our national and international madua.
Go home. Retire. Collect bottles or pump iron.
Rabuka is our officially Mr Beravalevu title holder.
He was not aware of the PAPs finding and the letter that he signed.
He was not aware of Lynda taking large amounts of money from Chinese Government.
He was not aware of his MPs sleeping with each other while on a work trip under drugs.
He was not aware that Rabuku was an illegal appointment.
He is always not aware.
Time to go home Kuku.
Retire mada.
No longer (or was he ever) fit for the role.
Time for the Acting Chief Justice to go!
He is a total embarrassment to Fiji given this latest debacle.
If he had a conscience, he would resign from office.
Not a chance with this person. His arrogance knows no bounds and he sees himself as being about everybody and answerable to no one.
See how fast things move when higher powers come to play in a legal sense.
Fiji has started a very dangerous pathway and the letter from Pryde should serve as a warning and reminder.
The country is well on its journey of ethnic cleansing and the race based appointments.
Multi agencies based in Suva should be very worried about their employees. This is not looking good for Fiji as a regional hub.
If Rabuka doesn’t pull his head in there will be harsh consequences and Peters won’t hold back. He has done it before and he will again. Get in line Viti or be ready to face the fall. Also learn that Rabuka has caused this country problems many times and this is his past repeating. Snakes don’t change even with a new skin on.
So when will the Acting CJ go? Is he also waiting for a letter from HE the President?
Clearly this lady is not qualified for be appointed a judge, so how can she be appointed to be the Acting DPP? The suspended DPP’s salary has been cut without any expalanation and illegally as well. What is happening Fiji? Is the Acting CJ senile, or is he just racist and makes laws as he goes?
Is Rabuka the Biden of Fiji? The senility seems to be a common trait here.
Must’ve been tit for tat – Rabuku gets letter of termination from president so let’s cut this vulagi’s pay and see how he likes it.
Shocking the stance taken by those who should be upholding the law but are so corrupt they do as they please
This is a shit storm and nobody emerges from a shit storm looking good.
The Vulagi AG has taken on Temo via the blunt instrument of geriatric shot put king Rambo.
Temo is part of independent judiciary so Vulagi AG in a bit of hot soup. Vulagi AG should focus on getting to grips with issues that concern potential corruption like alleged conflict of interests in government advisors bodies messing with tax system.
Where are the PMs advisors, his private secretary. Are they not informing him of key developments , which leads the PM to say he wasn’t aware of this and other incidents of public interest . Or is the PM too occupied with carrying the weight of the nation in the gym and taken a reactionary leadership stance. True, some of his appointees are making basic errors or acting outside their legal boundaries when they should be just doing their jobs properly according to the law, without creating crisis headache after headache for the PM.
But good to see that the media can make the wheels of justice roll faster by giving light to the issues on hand.
Surely the president should have known that the letter he was signing was wrong? But he went ahead and signed it anyway, His secretary should be fired snd his tenure in office should also be seriously evaluated. We can’t have someone in the top job who signs any document that’s laid before him. He has to query every document, and get alternative advice on matters he is unsure of.
GD, keep up the good work.
Loloma
CP entitled to his salary UNTILL he’s removed!!
GD, bula, you touched on this in your column.
Has the PM not prempted the judiciary to find CP guilty?
Where’s the local media and why aren’t they raising this with the PM.