The Fiji Police are making a virtue of taking their time to investigate cases arising out of the Supreme Court Commission of Inquiry because of their importance. Yet the whole process is compromised because any decision to prosecute is going to be taken by individuals adversely named in the COI Report.
First, here’s what the police are saying publicly about their own role:
It’s a strange comment in itself because surely the police are meant to “take extra care” with any investigation before they send their “dockets” to the ODPP. Yet it hides a shocking truth that goes to the heart of the integrity of the criminal justice system in Fiji.
The Police Commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu, is taking extra care because he knows that the Acting DPP, Nancy Tikoisuva, and her Deputy, John Rabuku, have the appearance, at least, of being inherently biased against the COI because it made findings against them. And the evidence in any case he presents them with has to be so compelling that they simply cannot sweep the police findings aside without leaving themselves open to (further) charges of obstructing and perverting the course of justice.
It is an outrage that the criminal justice system has come to this. And it is all because the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, has failed to use his constitutional authority to advise the President to remove the “crocodiles” who continue to inhabit the swamp and have a vested interest in staying there and continuing to pervert the course of justice.
First and foremost of these is the Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, who the COI specifically accuses of obstructing and perverting the course of justice, perjury and abuse of office. He should have been suspended weeks ago yet remains at the pinnacle of the judiciary with the power – as head of the Judicial Services Commission – to control the entire prosecution process.
Then there is the Chief Registrar, Tomasi Bainivalu, who the COI found had conveyed a message from Justice Temo to the former acting deputy FICAC Commissioner, Francis Puleiwai, that no charges she laid – and she was about to charge the Deputy Prime Minister, Biman Prasad – would be heard by any court in Fiji. He too should have been suspended weeks ago.
Yet the reason Rusiate Tudravu is really worried about “taking extra care” is that any police docket he sends to the ODPP will be decided by Nancy Tikoisuva and John Rabuku – who both owe their jobs to Salesi Temo and who are both hopelessly compromised because they were also shredded in the COI Report. In the case of the Acting DPP, she is accused of failing to declare a conflict of interest and in the case of her Deputy, John Rabuku, the COI finds him open to a charge of perverting the course of justice.
How can they possibly make decisions on whether others should face charges based on police investigations without the whole prosecution process being brought into disrepute? Answer: They can’t. And Blind Freddy (and Rusiate Tudravu) know that until they too are removed from the process that justice cannot possibly be served. He is stalling in the hope that the Prime Minister finally acts to bring this entire farce to an end.
So let’s hope that Sitiveni Rabuka’s early return from the Pacific Islands Forum is to break this impasse once and for all – to finally do what he said he was going to do last week and talk to the President about “an important matter relating to the COI”. That should be to fulfill his constitutional duty to advise the President to suspend the Chief Justice for misbehaviour and put him before a Tribunal of three judges to decide the veracity of the allegations made against him by the COI.
After that should come the domino effect of the removal of the Chief Registrar and the removal of Salesi Temo’s people at the ODPP – Nancy Tikoisuva and John Rabuku – so that these cases arising from the police investigations can be properly evaluated.
That should also mean bringing back the substantive DPP, Christopher Pryde, to work with Rusiate Tudravu on prosecutions arising from the COI without the appalling spectre of corruption that currently infects the entire process. Which, put simply, is crocodiles deciding whether other crocodiles should be brought to account for allegations of wrongdoing rather than a genuinely independent process, which the Fijian people are entitled to demand.
The ball is in your court, Prime Minister. Act decisively and there is some hope of saving your credibility and that of the entire criminal justice system. Fail to do so and the crocodiles win. And the Fijian people will eventually put you on trial soon enough in a court that is just a potent as the real thing – the court of public opinion at the ballot box.
Prime Minister, you have chronically been unable to do the right thing and the proof of that has been there for all to see at the PIF. But your credibility is now at breaking point. Act or be damned.
What we reported last week…
NOTE TO MY READERS:
1/ The police complaint against Justice David Ashton-Lewis that is referred to obliquely in the first Fiji Sun story has been lodged by Tomasi Bainivalu on behalf of the JSC based on information provided to it by Charlie Charters. It claims that Justice Ashton-Lewis has fraudulently misrepresented his credentials but that claim has already been dismissed by the Prime Minister as irrelevant to the Judge’s findings in the COI Report. In any event, it has been made – in the case of Bainivalu and the Chief Justice – by individuals adversely named by the Inquiry and they have a vested interest in derailing the entire process.
2/ The FICAC investigation into Christopher Pryde is similarly tainted by the blatant self interest of the complainants and the fact that the allegations against the substantive DPP of fraudulent expenses claims have come from the same file that three High Court judges examined when they exonerated Pryde of misbehaviour. They are trumped up charges designed to keep Christopher Pryde from returning to Fiji to take up his position, to which he was reinstated by the President. The FICAC complaint against Pryde was made by Nancy Tikoisuva, who currently occupies his job, evidently with the encouragement of the Chief Justice, whose evidence at Pryde’s Tribunal hearing that he is a “thief” was rejected.
In short, both these cases are tainted by the naked self-interest of the complainants – the fact that “they would say that, wouldn’t they?” Which has persuaded Grubsheet to give the allegations against Justice Ashton Lewis and Christopher Pryde no credence under the circumstances. They are aimed at keeping the complainants in their jobs and perverting the course of justice.
Act Indeed. Your calls are effective in creating an increasing awareness of the corrupted state of affairs. So many sectors are corrupted as enabling pimps for Rabuka from Chiefs to Bimandians and Shameless Hoe Shamima and her branded Gal Pals that unless there is more and public outcry they all seem entitled to throw plaudits at the status quo. Nothing else will make the difference including Fiji’s eunuchs that make up the Opposition.
Temo’s defiance of COI reflects Netanyahu’s of ICJ, facilitated by Rabuka and Trump, respectively.
Looks like no turning back until elections.
A Mother of all Revolutions is absolutely needed now. I hope the matured youths wherever and whoever you may be in Fiji are taking note of what’s happening elsewhere around the world. We can together achieve this. The only caveat is that we need a charismatic/powerful youth leader.
Come on over to Fiji to lead the revolution you are encouraging.
Dont bark like a dog from within the safety of its master’s compound.
We await your arrival.
MESSAGE TO CHARLIE CHARTERS
Charlie, leaving comments here attacking the integrity of Justice Ashton-Lewis and undermining the COI Inquiry is pointless. They will not be cleared for publication.
As I have already pointed out, it is not only unlawful to “insult” the Commissioner (Section 16 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act) whether or not his commission has ended but your campaign of vilification is undermining the rule of law.
You have chosen to side with those who have been adversely mentioned without having once addressed the veracity of the findings against them. Instead, you have targeted both the Judge and Janet Mason on personal grounds that even the Prime Minister says are irrelevant to the job they have done.
You have your own means of waging this vendetta on Facebook and through your patrons at the Fiji Times. But having described me as a “ball greaser” for the COI, I see no reason to accommodate you here.
So kindly bugger off.
Yeah! As lynduh’s toy boy aseri would say: vaark off mister goli chato. Go masipolo elsewhere.
Ha ha vinaka Graham.
I support your valedictory message to that ‘vulagi’ in Yorkshire.
Is Baimaan Prasad, who has been named in the COI Report aware that Prophet Mohammed’s (PBUH) birthday celebrations in which he was chief guest in Lautoka last weekend was actually organised by the convicted drug trafficker who spent 3 or 4 years in a NZ prison.
Are his hangers on aware and are those who attended the event aware?
I am sure many are aware but when it come to free chow, freeloading, vote buying and receiving donations all these minor things do not matter.
This person is also involved in Fiji Football at the highest levels.
But then one should not be surprised because being dodgy is now normal and an essential requirement in Fiji to be appointed to roles.
With eyes on your previous post and this one, something to contemplate is the old dictum: they may be bastards, but they are our bastards. But this is not helpful, it will not help keep Fiji in the democratic fold.
Politicians come and go. What keeps a country stable and as a well-functioning democracy is the integrity of its institutions, its leaders and officers of state. They serve the country and not themselves or a particular interest group.
If you don’t have a professional police force, able to uphold the law without fear or favour, you have nothing. It’s as simple as that.
In a democracy, power comes from the people, and once voted in leaders must recognize integrity is everything – in leadership and in the institutions of state functioning as they should.
In these CoI matters, it appears the various protagonists have been taking advantage of these institutions by meddling in the process, leaning on individuals with divided loyalties and conflicts of interest.
The message here is that individuals trying to influence the outcomes need to pull their heads in and allow the process to run its course. Any suggestion that the Police are dragging their feet on these matters or have been influenced one way or the other on weakens Fiji’s democracy.
Officers of state identified for various alleged transgressions by the CoI need to do the right thing and step aside until their names are cleared. Anything less just undermines these key institutions, raises suspicion and drags the country down.
Does that matter to the those with eyes on Fiji? Yes it does.
Unfortunately, even though they should step down until their names are cleared, they know, as we know, this will never happen.
Reason being that if they step down they will never be reinstated and secondly, they themselves know that they are guilty. Hence they will never be reinstated.
They are clinging on to the position and being paid, whilst the whole sorry saga continues as those in charge drag their feet.
What’s the deal with Kamikamica on a trade trip to NZ with Waqanaika. Getting worse every day.
He needs a good lawyer. Er, any lawyer.
Goofy manoa’s nz bullshit business jaunts always coincides with major rugby matches. Don’t believe me? Just check his travel records to nz against major match fixtures.
Wonderful deal right? Get paid to go to nz and read bullshit speeches about bullshit investments prepared by his bullshit disciples like Pramesh 10% Sharma and squeeze in a couple of parties and a bloody good rugby matche for which he doesn’t pay for the tickets. Free travel, free rugby, free drinks and free hotel with lots of masi polo like pramesh falling over themselves to be the first to suck his duck. And to receive all this free stuff goofy manoa gets paid lots of money by fijian taxpayers as travel allowances. What an amazing deal!!
No wonder all the other ministers and especially buka the baku is out and about on their jaunts around the world spewing gibberish speeches with zero meaning, effort and intent for the fijian people. This is a con government led by the master con artist who has been conning everyone, especially the itaukei for around 4 decades now.
It’s almost as if buka the baku went to the same con college as Netanyahu, modi and trump and all got their doctorate with high distinction in conning the public at around the same time.
These evil pricks have more evil in common then people realise. The sooner they all die the better.
The President and the First Lady were chief guest at the opening of a rice mill on Vanua Levu, and presumably they still there because it can’t hardly be justified for his excellency to travel for just one event, as the Commissioner Northern himself could of opened it. So Rabuka will probably be talking to a blank wall if he were planning to speak to his excellency after arriving from the Forum Leaders meeting in Honiara and before flying off to Jerusalem with his entourage. The circus continues.
Charlie Charters RED CARDED!
When you play the man and not the ball, play foul – the ref will send you off.
Off to the bin.