Major General Ro Jone Kalouniwai must be pretty confident of containing restiveness in the ranks of the RFMF to be engineering the prosecution of his former commander and prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, on charges of inciting a mutiny in the military in the wake of the 2022 elections.
Let’s be in no doubt. This would not be happening without Kalouniwai being willing to give evidence in open court that Bainimarama and his co-accused – the then police commissioner and former RFMF officer Sitiveni Qiliho – tried to get him to prevent a change of government.
We don’t yet know the precise charge but it presumably relates to previous allegations that the pair tried to persuade the RFMF Commander to intervene on false claims that minority groups were being attacked.
For civilians, inciting mutiny carries a possible 15-year jail sentence and for serving members of the military, a life sentence. We don’t yet know how Frank Bainimarama and Sitiveni Qiliho will be classified but either way, they are facing the prospect of more jail time and also the prospect of deep resentment at their prosecution in the military and wider community.
Jone Kalouniwai is facing a backlash in the ranks of those RFMF personnel who are known supporters of Bainimarama. They are not going to be happy that Kalouniwai is Frank’s accuser. But the Commander is clearly willing to take a gamble that he can contain any restiveness at a time when he is already facing criticism within the ranks for his perceived weakness in asserting the RFMF’s role in the fight against drugs and over blatant violations of the Constitution by his Commander in Chief, the President, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka and the Chief Justice, Salesi Temo.
Can Kalouniwai keep a lid on this restiveness? We are about to find out. But there are already serious questions being asked about the timing of this prosecution and the RFMF Commander’s role in it.
1/ Why has it taken more than three years after the alleged events in question for these charges to be laid? Kalouniwai and those other officers who have reportedly given police statements had a duty to act on and/or report any incitement to mutiny when it happened, not almost 40 months later.
2/ If Kalouniwai was genuinely aggrieved that Frank Bainimarama had incited him to intervene in the wake of the 2022 elections, why is he finally acting so close to the 2026 elections? These allegations aren’t new and there seems no plausible reason for such a delay other than political expediency.
FACT:
1/ Frank Bainimarama is a founding member of a new political party that is about to apply for registration to contest the elections. (It is not Inia Seruiratu‘s People First). He cannot lead it because of his previous conviction and jail sentence but even giving it his imprimatur guarantees that this party will be a force to be reckoned with. With dissatisfaction with the Coalition at an all time high, this party poses a real and present danger to the current order.
2/ There will be an immediate suspicion in the public mind that this prosecution is to damage the prospects of this new group and to prevent Bainimarama from making a political comeback, even if only as a figurehead in a party led by someone else.
3/ We can assume that this new party will subscribe to all of the principles that Bainimarama espoused when he was in government – including a common and equal citizenry and a common identity. We need to remember that more Fijians voted for Bainimarama’s FijiFirst at the 2022 election than any other party. Much as the Coalition crows about its “mandate”, it came to power only by three parties banding together and with a majority of just one vote on the floor of the parliament. So Bainimarama is still arguably a major political force even from outside the parliament.
4/ Bainimarama famously disbanded the Great Council of Chiefs – to which Major General Kalouniwai belongs as a chief himself. He also took lease money on iTaukei land that the chiefs had traditionally received and gave it directly to ordinary people, which Rabuka reversed. We can assume that this will also be the policy of Bainimarama’s new party, which represents another challenge to the chiefs and can be expected to be hotly contested.
How much has the RFMF Commander, Ro Jone Kalouniwai, been influenced by his chiefly position and allegiances to agree to give evidence against Frank Bainimarama in the full glare of publicity in the countdown to the coming election? He will be there in his uniform in open court giving testimony and being cross-examined on issues that have the capacity to cause a great deal of angst.
Again, why has it taken more than three years until close to another election to lay these charges? If Kalouniwai had evidence against Frank Bainimarama of trying to incite a mutiny in 2022 or early 2023, why has he waited so long to act? Why cock his weapon now in early 2026? This goes to the heart of the credibility of this prosecution.
Have these charges only been laid because the authorities have discovered that Bainimarama is making a political comeback of sorts as the figurehead of a new party that inevitably poses an existential threat to the “new order”, including the power of the chiefs? A great many Fijians will be smelling a very big rat indeed at the timing of this prosecution, quite apart from the shock of the RFMF Commander “ratting” on his former superior and long-time commander and prime minister.
There is also the martyr factor – Bainimarama again in handcuffs having already served six months in jail and the inevitable accusations that he is being persecuted just as he takes his first tentative steps back into the political arena.
We already have reports that the Chief Justice has reached an extraordinary agreement with the President and Prime Minister to jail Bainimarama’s former side-kick, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, at the end of next month irrespective of the evidence against him. Can Frank Bainimarama get a fair trial under the circumstances? Was that another pig flying over Suva?
You really have to wonder about the judgment of the Prime Minister and those around him in the institutions of state. Just as the electorate is craving stability and for the authorities to finally start tackling the basics in Fiji – service delivery, cost-of-living challenges, the war on drugs – we now have yet another spectacle in the courts to remind everyone – as if they need reminding – that this is a government that has almost totally lost the plot.
They don’t even seem to realise something Grubsheet has already canvassed in these columns – that in pursuing Bainimarama again, they are giving him a massive free kick. Assuming that it is registered and Bainimarama is convicted, his new political party will be going into this election with the benefit of its spiritual leader behind bars.
The sympathy vote will be immense. But worse for the Coalition, it will be a stark reminder for many voters of the relative stability in the country under Bainimarama’s rule – and especially its multiracial agenda and emphasis on service delivery compared to Rabuka’s “government”, with its sex and illicit drug scandals and conga-line of senior ministers and other figures before the courts.
It will underline yet again that the change of government in 2022 hasn’t been the improvement that was promised. On the contrary, it has ushered in a period of relative instability, corruption and lawlessness that looks like reaching a climax as the election approaches and will do Sitiveni Rabuka and his colleagues no good at all.
Even if he is behind bars – perhaps especially if he is behind bars – Frank Bainimarama will arguably be an even greater political force as voters weigh the relative benefits of his FijiFirst government and the current dysfunctional rabble. Where would you rather be, Fiji? In Frank’s position as a perceived political martyr or Sitiveni Rabuka, having to face the people when his promises of change for the better have come to nought?
The national temperature keeps rising when any political party seeking re-election ought to be intent on lowering it.
How close is it to boiling point? We shall see. But none of this is good for anyone craving national stability, let alone solid progress and the needs of ordinary Fijians being properly met.
A selection of comments on Facebook:
And to think that it is only eight weeks since Frank Bainimarama was an honoured guest at the return of the latest batch of UN peacekeepers. The perfidy of these people knows no bounds.
We all reap what we sow – that is the rule of nature and is part of the Living God’s law of nature!
We MUST all learn to respect the rule of law whether you are the PM or President we must all abide by the LAW of the land which was born from the Living God’s Commandments!
If Fiji is to prospect again then every citizens should respect the rule of law, respect each other, love thy neighbours, repent our sins, forgive each others wrongs-but the rule of law must be precedent, and honour the Living God Yahweh for His return is imminent!
God Bless Fiji!
The way things are, the sooner the better.
If I believed in a God, I would say he has definitely forsaken this place.
Charging Bai and the former top cop is a great attempt to divert public attention away from the many current multi million dollar corruptions and scandals that have engulfed this useless Coalition +G9 Govt. The only mutiny that has taken place is the current hijacking of the justice system by Saleshni, Buka and the likes.
People are not fools! On the flip side, the electorate’s appetite to see former regime members punished has long been diminished by the Coalition’s inability to punish their own kind for corruption. People are educated and have a conscience (except for those blinded by divisive propaganda) and everyone wants the justice system to apply fairly.
So, nice try Coalition! Thumbs down to your selective justice! Try to prosecute yourselves on the many instances o corruption under your watch (such as COI findings, Sports Minister’s wife case, abuse of office cases etc) so that electorates support you in charging Bai. What now will happen is Bai’s 300,000 plus votes will to go a new party like People’s First Party as sympathy votes.
I-Taukei voters are now educated and smarter than before. You can no longer dangle your false narratives on land and racism to be always in power and steal money systematically. We are in election year and you have dug your own grave 90% so far and people will bury you deep on election day.
This government is playing mind games now. Driving the public to despair, depression amongst other things. Rabuka drove Bavadra to death, and now trying his best to kill this country totally. I have given up all hope.
Has the RFMF Commander crossed the line from his repeated position of not interfering in the Fiji political arena?
He has previous said the FMRF will not engage, but now in an election year he suddenly becomes embroiled in allegations related to the 2022 Election and his role as the Commander.
As many will ask why it took more than 3 years for these allegations to come to light!
The most obvious answer is he sees the potential rise of a party or parties that can unseat the current government and disturb his position and a great many others, including the GCC of which he is a member.
It will be of interest to many as to the basis of an allegation of mutiny, charging is one thing. proving it is quite another.
The Commander does not decide when the Police or the DPP lay charges. This is no longer the Bai and Kai era where they decided everything. Now the different state apparatus operate on their own, without interference. Timing of charges etc is based on the thoroughness (or slow pace) of the investigation. Remember to go and visit Bai in jail acha bhai.
Oh, yes. Very convenient. “The different state apparatus operate on their own”? Are you kidding?
You have been drinking the Kool Aid, mate. There is a mountain of evidence that they have been corrupted and there is no getting away from that.
You dumb! Your so called “state appartus” is infected by buka virus that only operates to cover Coalition’s corruption and when threat of losing power arises. Now, go and take your medicine and sleep, achha. Long Live, Bai
So, this is what the ipads given to kalouniwai and the entertaining of his wife in Sydney last year by one Sydney computer salesman have bought.
Ratu Jone Kalouniwai is a disgraceful human being, The modern day Judas who has betrayed principles and sided with the Cakaudrove Jigaboo province by turning a blind eye to the indiscretions of the PM, the President chief justice and those alike.
Nice to see him recover from his selective amnesia by throwing Bainimarama under the bus like this. Were you suffering from nightmares thinking about what Bainimarama and Qiloqilo said to you shortly after 2022 when no government had been formed yet Ratu Jone?
I recall writing this about Kalouniwai back then but you correctly removed my comment when I was writing under the pseudonym of Heathcliffe back then. But I was right about Ratu Jone then as I am today.
How can you trust a man to uphold section 131(2) of the constitution when he cannot be trusted enough to look after his wife and kids because he ran out on them by running off with a younger jezebel?
No, you’re wrong. Bai is a disgraceful human being bereft of human decency and intelligence. He is now going to jail for the second time while his smart kaidia is tap dancing around the place. Bai is stupid and his over reliance on Kai led to his election loss and now to eat dhal and rourou for the rest of his life. It his own doing.
What worries me most is that Fiji seems stuck in a permanent cycle of retribution rather than recovery. If we keep prosecuting the past as a substitute for governing the present, we will never move forward as a country.
Meanwhile, drugs, corruption, and institutional decay are eating away at the social fabric. The judiciary is no longer widely trusted, enforcement is inconsistent, and ordinary people feel abandoned. That isn’t rhetoric — it’s lived reality, and I say that as someone who has seen the system from the inside.
At some point, a nation has to decide whether it wants justice and stability, or endless score-settling that paralyses both. Fiji has reached a stage where incremental politics is failing, and some form of decisive, nationally focused intervention — grounded in order, restraint, and a genuine roadmap back to accountability — is needed.
Without that reset, we risk remaining trapped in a political shit show that benefits no one except those who thrive in chaos, and we all know where that will end.
Into the loving arms of the snakes and pedos we go for 2026.
Whether the Commander ratted or moused, it doesn’t change the fact that Bai and Kai were desperate and based on the Fiji Police’s investigation, they broke the law.
Whether Rabuka stays on, wins or loses, it won’t change the fact that Bai and Qiliho will be in jail for a long time. And the puppet master enjoying his last days of freedom before joining the puppets in their retirement home soon.
You talk as you the judge that have already decided that Bai will be jailed. Go and first sentence Buka for his 1987 coup, you di*khead.
If you’re an adviser or military and witness to what’s happening now..take diligent notes and get ready for rewards when Government changes. Every dog will have its day.
Mate your journalistic accuracy has gone down the drain or what.
Firstly, if Bai is being charged with inciting mutiny, then that means he would have been asking some junior officers to overthrow the Commander.
Otherwise he would have been charged with sedition.
Bai has been charged because one of the “Bai” boys in camp confessed that he was trying to spur them into action.
Barking up the wrong tree here mate.
So how do you explain the three year delay between the alleged offences and charges being laid? Why weren’t they laid before?
Incidentally, this article was written before the actual charges were revealed. Please refer to the following article.
But it still doesn’t explain the delay in Bainimarama being charged until the same week his new political party is reportedly ready to be launched. All the other points I have made remain valid.
Your commenting to Grubsheet is down right pathetic, mate. Are you ok? You assuming things such as Bai’s boy confessed blah blah. Speak on facts, boy. The timing to charge Bai is purely politically motivated and also when RFFMF Kalou feels insecure about his position in the face of new Govt formation after elections.
It’s all a distraction ! How convenient for the biggest conman Rabuka who also happens to be Fijis biggest coward ! Everyone who was ever involved in a coup including Speight has been to prison except Rabuka !
Tamata lawakica lasulasu! Just like Gadai the con artist whose eyeing the commander position when the current commanders position expires in September this year !!
Kalouniwai shows he is a typical Kai Rewa yameyame! He doesn’t even acknowledge that Bainimarama still forgave him when he ditched his wife and kids and ran off with a married police woman who had an affair with him when they were in Sinai!
Do what you want coalition govt ! Your racist lazy bunch will pay for your own sins at the next polls ! Don’t think people are stupid. They now realize Bainimarama developed Fiji whilst the current government are all about their pockets and asses .
Komanda RFFMF has lost his integrity and independence within a year after 2022 Elections and has become a politician and Coalition puppet. If he was so concerned on mutiny then why stay quiet for 3 years? Surely, he had all the power and influence to act to quell any dissent immediately by bring them to account as a matter of national security.
He is weak and worried about losing his position so he wants to be in Buka’s good books to get his contract renewal through Constitutional Office Commission. All he does is apologize here, apologize there, threaten Gadai on drug fight, pretends to be tough guy from time to time with nonsensical speeches at parades, can’t use s131 of Constitution to protect all on COI cover up conspiracy as well as Saleshni’s coup of judiciary, prepared to send his soldiers to Gaza when knowing the risks (didn’t speak a word against it), etc.
Come on, Komanda – you surely can rise up above these. Your actions will surely see your men losing trust in you despite being loyal to the the institution. Remember Bai will be your Boss soon in the event he becomes President one day! This is Fiji and anything can happen especially with elections this year. Next Komanda should be Gadai.