# THE SUSPENDED DPP. THE PATIENCE OF JOB

So almost a year after he was suspended as DPP and famously left his office carrying the “Keep Calm and Carry On” sign that had become the office motto, Christopher Pryde finally gets the judicial tribunal the Constitution stipulates to hear the accusation against him of misbehaviour.

It will have been extremely difficult for him to keep calm – a man with an unblemished employment record in the prime of his working life cooling his heels at home as the Attorney General, Siromi Turaga, defied the Constitution and refused to convene what the law requires.

At one stage, the AG was complaining about the cost of obeying the law – having to find three judges and spend money delivering justice. Then he said that he wanted local judges to hear the case against Christopher Pryde instead of expatriates, presumably because they would be more likely to make the accusation stick. And now, of course, we finally have those local judges, one an experienced and highly regarded High Court judge in the form of Justice Anare Tuilevuka and two others who have only recently been promoted from the magistracy.

There is still no word on when the tribunal hearing will actually be held or the precise charges that Christopher Pryde will have to answer. When he was suspended last April, he was told it was because he had been photographed at a Japanese Embassy function talking to the ousted Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. But it is pretty clear that the real reason is that Siromi Turaga wanted Christopher Pryde out of the way. He subsequently said publicly that he wanted any expatriates in the judiciary removed and presumably that also applied to the DPP.

But there was another, more sinister agenda. Because rather than having someone who was independent – which the DPP is supposed to be – there is strong evidence that Siromi Turaga wanted to install a DPP he could control. We know that his first acting replacement for Christopher Pryde, the late Ratu David Toganivalu, complained to his staff that he was getting constant calls from Siromi Turaga and the Acting Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, urging him to fast-track the prosecutions of Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Frank Bainimarama and others associated with the former government.

Toganivalu was a man of high principle who bridled at the interference in his independence. So when he died suddenly last October, Siromi Turaga made sure that he appointed an Acting DPP who would do as he was told. His choice of John Rabuku was unlawful then and is unlawful now. Under the Constitution, he cannot hold the position of AG because he has officially been found guilty of professional misconduct. So now Siromi Turaga – with the backing of the rest of the cabinet – is going to formally ask his handpicked appointment as Acting CJ, Salesi Temo – sitting as President of the Supreme Court – whether he can defy that law and keep John Rabuku in place.

John Rabuku has not only done his job as Siromi Turaga wants him to do by appealing the acquittals of Frank Bainimarama and the suspended Police Commissioner, Sitiveni Qiliho, he has embarked on a racist purge of the Office of the DPP. One of the respected Assistant DPPs under Christopher Pryde, Elizabeth Rice, is suing the state for unfair dismissal on racial grounds after John Rabuku sacked her, telling her that it was because she was “white”. And there has been other workplace ethnic cleansing by Rabuku, including that of a senior Indo-Fijian administrative assistant who he accused of siding with Christopher Pryde to disadvantage iTaukei.

Some of the iTaukei dismissed by Pryde for lack of performance have suddenly re-emerged in the ODPP, where the climate is said to be one of fear. So that is the sorry state of our prosecution service since the “white” man with the “keep calm and carry on” attitude left the building almost a year ago to wait, and wait and wait for Siromi Turaga to obey the law.

The tribunal is not a trial and Christopher Pryde hasn’t been charged with any offence. So there is no constraint in making the following observations:

• Why would he be suspended on the grounds of misbehaviour for having a conversation in full public view at an embassy function with Siromi Turaga’s predecessor? It was before any police file on Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum had reached his desk. And there was no reason to “ghost” him.
• Lynda Tabuya remains as a minister when far more serious allegations have been made against her. She continued to work while a People’s Alliance disciplinary committee investigated those allegations and continues in office even after it has found those allegations proven.
• Christopher Pryde was talking to Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. He wasn’t bonking him and smoking “weed”.
• What other conclusion can possibly be reached than that there is one rule for the “white” man and one rule for an iTaukei government insider? It is a searing indictment of the Coalition and its racism and shocking disregard for the rule of law.

Grubsheet personally welcomes the fact that three iTaukei judges have been appointed to hear this case, assuming they do their duty to be independent. Because more than anyone else, they will understand the position Christopher Pryde was placed in on the fateful evening he was clandestinely photographed on foreign territory ( the Japanese ambassador’s residence) against all diplomatic protocols and the explicit instructions of Japanese officials on the night that no photographs be taken.

Christopher Pryde was a guest of the Japanese ambassador for the Emperor of Japan’s birthday. So was Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. When Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum approached him for what Pryde says was a casual conversation, what was he meant to do? Snub him when he had no reason to do so legally just because being seen with him might upset Siromi Turaga and the new Coalition government?

To have done so would not only have been grossly discourteous but would have been an insult to his host. Christopher Pryde is married to a Japanese woman and has spent a great deal of time in Japan. He was aware that he was at the home of the Japanese ambassador who had also invited the ousted AG to be there. So he did what was right culturally as well as legally to not embarrass the official Japanese representative to Fiji in his own home.

If anyone can understand that, it ought to be the iTaukei, for whom protocol and courtesy is just as important as it is for the Japanese. “Keep Calm and Carry On”? After waiting a year for justice to be done and still waiting for a Tribunal hearing date, Christopher Pryde has the patience of Job.*

James 5:11
Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.