The Acting Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, has been guilty of repeated breaches of the Constitution – the latest when he unlawfully cut off the salary of the suspended DPP, Christopher Pryde, two weeks ago and left him unable to defend himself.
Yet it is a sign of Fiji’s steady progress down the Zimbabwe Road to banana republic status that Justice Temo is now Acting President of the Republic as the resident cream puff, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere, flies off to Paris for the Olympics to compete in the magiti event.
Through his repeated violations of the supreme law, Salesi Temo is demonstrably unfit to be a judge, let alone Acting Chief Justice. And it is a national scandal that he is now our Acting Head of State. It is unprecedented in our entire history since Independence that someone who flouts the law so shamelessly should be at the apex of the State, representing all Fijians.
We have seen Justice Temo unlawfully put John Rabuku into the job of Acting DPP only to have that countermanded by three Supreme Court judges and drag his feet in compliance. We have witnessed him putting a convicted drink driver, Tomasi Bainivalu, into the job of Chief Registrar. And we have witnessed his unlawful conduct all through the sorry saga of Christopher Pryde’s removal – the unconscionable delay in holding a judicial tribunal into the affair and yet another breach of the law in cutting off the DPP’s ability to defend himself.
Eleven days after the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, said it was wrong for Justice Temo, as Chair of the Judicial Services Commission, to write to the substantive President, Ratu Wiliame, advising him to inform Christopher Pryde that his salary was being cut off, nothing has been done to restore it. And now that Salesi Temo himself occupies the position of President, can we imagine him advising himself to do the right thing and restore the DPP’s ability to defend himself?
The governance of the nation has become a joke. I don’t know about you, Fiji, but I am incensed that the position of head of state can be in the hands of such a person. Is this what the architects of our independence imagined?
Back then, Queen Elizabeth II was our head of state – someone who understood constitutional conventions and never put a foot wrong – and she was represented by a governor-general, the first of them, the highly respected Vunivalu of Bau, Ratu Sir George Cakobau.
Yet thanks to Sitiveni Rabuka, the Queen was removed after his coup in 1987. And now we have the local Justice Cocklecarrot – Salesi Temo, the shameless outlaw – presiding over the State and in an exquisite irony, defying Sitiveni Rabuka’s wishes 37 years on.
Bark if you think the country has gone to the dogs. Dua, rua, tolu. Woof!
From this…
To this…
And they call that progress?
Could these two perchance be related?
Why dies he dress like that? Christmas is another 5 months away. But I doubt this Santa will be bringing any presents to Fijians!
Look up a picture of Captain Hook – as in Peter Pan.
So it’s business in the chambers by Hook or by Crook!
Now that Santa is not only the Acting CJ, but the Acting President as well, he should just abrogate the constitution whilst he can and put in a new one. I think he may have the powers to do that. Long standing problem solved in minutes!
And then the people of Fiji can commission a statue of him as he will have saved Fiji from its own self.
A/CJ’s gazetted notice dated 15th July re. Legal Vacation due in 15 weeks time, but ignoring the DPP case with pride over the past 15 months. Come on FLS, most of us are counting on you to advocate and correct the mounting wrongs. Please seek counsel from your ex-President, Mr Devanesh Sharma.
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From today’s BBC news:
“US Secret Service director Kim Cheatle has resigned after security failures surrounding an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
“As your director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” Ms Cheatle said in a resignation letter to agency staff on Tuesday.”
If such accountability existed in Fiji, there would be vacancies at the Judiciary’s highest levels. But accountability in the country seems to be illegitimate and satanic.
It’s all part of Immunity Rabuka’s ethno nationalist/communal agenda.
His response apparently to the 16years Bainimarama/Khaiyum dictatorship…and which many iTaukei’s concur with.
He plays the multi racial card as a cover …and Baimaan can’ t do eff all about it.
All other’s are gradually becoming second class citizens!!