When solemn promises before God are broken, a nation grieves for its future.
“I, Jioji Konousi Konrote, swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Republic of Fiji, and that I will obey, observe , uphold and maintain the Constitution of the Republic of Fiji and all other laws of Fiji… So help me, God! “
“I, Kamal Kumar, swear that, as a judicial officer within the courts of Fiji, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Republic of Fiji, and that I will obey, observe, uphold and maintain the Constitution of the Republic of Fiji and all other laws of Fiji, and I solemnly and sincerely promise that I will defend the rule of law and the rights of the people, and will do justice to all persons without fear, favour or prejudice, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Fiji and the law. So help me, God!
Extract from the 2013 Constitution on the law relating to the removal of a Solicitor General for alleged misbehaviour:
“112: (3) If the President, acting on the advice of the Judicial Services Commission, considers that the question of removing a Judge, Magistrate, Master of the High Court, the Chief Registrar or any other judicial officer appointed by the Judicial Services Commission from office ought to be investigated, then—
(a) the President, acting on the advice of the Judicial Services Commission, shall appoint— 1. (i) in the case of alleged misbehaviour—a tribunal, consisting of a chairperson and not less than 2 other members, selected from amongst persons who hold or have held high judicial office in Fiji or in another country…
2. (b) the tribunal …enquires into the matter and furnishes a written report of the facts to the President and advises the President of its recommendation whether or not the Judge, Magistrate, Master of the High Court, the Chief Registrar or any other judicial officer appointed by the Judicial Services Commission should be removed from office; and 3. (c) in deciding whether or not to remove a Judge, the President must act on the advice of the tribunal …
(6) The report of the tribunal… made under subsection (3) shall be made public”.
This Constitutional provision was ignored and the Solicitor General, Sharvada Sharma, was summarily dismissed without a Judicial Services Commission tribunal hearing into the allegation of misbehaviour made against him by the Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem.
God help Fiji when the rule of law is not upheld.
Aiyaz is so used to take decisions ad hoc that he even forgets what he wrote. His constitution doesn’t mean a thing even to himself.
Let’s call it as it really is: the 2013 Constitution is nothing more than a another military decree. It was shoved down peoples throats at the point of a gun.
The 2006 hijackers shoved it down our throats then covered their asses vide Chap 10 which grants them immunity from prosecution. No where else in the world is the act of treason protected under a country’s Contitution. Fiji is most unique in this regard.
In Fiji, power and authority is exercised iaw the whims of one man. We live in an illiberal democracy (Google it if you don’t know what this means).
An illiberal democracy is what the the Fiji First government, with the support of the military, have bequeathed Fiji. It is their lasting legacy to the people of Fiji.
Gestapo-like midnight deportations of university leaders, summary dismissals of diplomats and senior civil servants without due process, the stacking of boards of State Owned enterprises (SOE) favouring one ethnic and religious group etc, are the shenanigans of an illiberal democracy.
So should we be surprised that the SG has been denied natural justice in the same way others have been denied the same?
I am all for that Ba villager who told the PM in his face to grow a set of balls and act like a man. Assert some leadership by standing up to Khaiyum and his cronies. Or face disaster at the polls.
Loyalty to country always. Loyalty to government when it reserves it – Mark Twain.
Unexpressed emotions will never die they are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways -Sigmund Freud.
Why is it a surprise that the rule of law has crumbled?
The rule of law was crushed in 2006 and never really was revived. Fiji is only a functioning democracy in name only and not a genuine democracy those in power claims it to be.
Everything from the electoral system, judiciary, parliamentary proceeding, the appointment of the head of state are tightly controlled and presented as an exercise in democracy but we all know the system is rigged and Fiji is a two men show, actually a one man show and whatever that one man says goes. What a shame.
“God help Fiji when the rule of law is not upheld.”
God sent us Aiyaz and Voreqe to clean up all corruption… Actually, God is not there to help us because life is a trial. We are who we are. What is written will happen.
Voreqe and Aiyaz are obviously oblivious to what’s coming next.
Double standards much with “rules for thee, none for me” since both those two clowns have clearly dug a hole so deep that there’s no way they’ll be able to come out of it. That’s clearly much the “Rule of Lawlessness” that both men are portraying which has turned the country into a beggar nation unfortunately towards tourism and foreign loans just when a subsistence economy is a better alternative in these hard times at least.
Rule of law crumbled a long time ago unfortunately, especially when the two most hated men in the country continue to make things worse for the people who grow increasingly frustrated and irritated towards them.