Sitiveni Rabuka really is past his used-by date as a Prime Minister and politician when he treats the Fijian people with such contempt. His latest prevarication and dissembling over the release of the Ashton-Lewis Commission into the “rotten circumstances” of the appointment of Barbara MalImali as FICAC Commissioner is the final straw.
This is an inquiry that the Prime Minister himself set up knowing that Justice David Ashton-Lewis is a respected Australian judge who sits on Fiji’s Supreme Court. He would have known – or should have known – that unlike the rogue oaf who Rabuka appointed Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, David Ashton Lewis was never going to produce a white-wash that would benefit the Coalition politically.
For more than three months, the Judge and his Counsel Assisting, Janet Mason, forensically went through the evidence to establish the facts of Barbara Malimali’s appointment. How she was parachuted into FICAC to block corruption investigations into a gaggle of the government’s ministers and on the very day that the Deputy Prime Minister and NFP leader, Biman Prasad, was to be charged with making false declarations to the Elections Office.
The COI inquiry – which was held “in camera” with the proceedings declared secret to protect the integrity of any criminal investigations – has cost as much as $2-million on the latest estimates. That alone means that the Prime Minister is personally accountable for having incurred that cost.
More than a week ago, Justice David Ashton Lewis presented two versions of his report to Sitiveni Rabuka – one the full report and another a redacted version that excludes material that might affect criminal investigations that can immediately be released to the public.
The Prime Minister, on several occasions, has said he favours the report being released. But it sure as hell doesn’t seem like it given his behaviour since. Just look at the nonsense he is peddling in his latest comments to the media.
1/ He has read the report and has formed his own conclusions about it.
2/ He is waiting to hear from the Attorney General, Graham Leung, and might get a call from him tomorrow (Thursday). Oh really? Leung is there to jump when the Prime Minister says jump. The PM doesn’t hang around waiting for his call. Unless, of course, he doesn’t want to take it.
3/ Rabuka is also waiting to again talk to the President, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, about the Report. The Constitution stipulates that the President acts only on the advice of the Prime Minister. So if Rabuka says to the President “release the report”, Ratu Naiqama has no choice but to do so. The point is that the buck stops with the Prime Minister.
4/ So why the delay? Why the prevarication and excuses? There is only one plausible explanation. That the Ashton-Lewis COI Report is a political “hot potato” so hot that is now being tossed between the main players at the apex of the state, with no-one wanting their hands burnt by taking responsibility for making it public . This includes the man who set up the inquiry in the first place and broke the cardinal political rule the world over that you don’t do so without knowing the outcome in advance.
Sitiveni Rabuka spent $2-million of your money getting the judge to provide us all with the truth but now that David Ashton-Lewis has done so, is balking at fulfilling his responsibility. Worse, he treats us all like idiots with a whole lot of pathetic excuses that would not past muster in the principal’s office of any Fijian primary school.
So the AG might “be free” to have the time to call the Prime Minister, “probably” tomorrow? Oh really? (again). Do you honestly think, Prime Minister, that the one million people you govern are that stupid?
Grubsheet, like any other responsible citizen, wants the integrity of the process to be upheld. Yet in the face of this farce, the time for beating around the bush is over. I am in the business of disclosure. My duty is to my readers and they need to understand right now why the Prime Minister is so demonstrably dragging his feet.
Here’s what I gather the COI report contains. I might not be entirely correct but it is for the Prime Minister to set the record straight by releasing the Ashton-Lewis findings.
- Reports from multiple sources say the report concludes that Barbara Malimali shouldn’t have been appointed in the first place, has acted inappropriately as FICAC Commissioner and must be removed.
- It reportedly recommends the reinstatement of Francis Puleiwai and Kuluniasi Saumi, the FICAC chief investigator Barbara Malimali sacked after he gave evidence to the Inquiry.
- It reportedly recommends that the charge against Biman Prasad that Francis Puleiwai as deputy FICAC Commissioner tried to lay be re-instituted, which would effectively end the NFP leader’s career in politics. Other politicians would also have investigations into their conduct re-instituted.
- It reportedly recommends that the Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, be suspended and put before a Tribunal of judges on a charge of misbehaviour. This evidently relates to his intervention at FICAC in telling Francis Puleiwai that no court in Fiji would hear any charge she laid.
- It also reportedly makes adverse findings against some of the nation’s most prominent lawyers.
Get the picture, Fiji? This is why your Prime Minister is dancing around in the dirt like a panicked cowboy being set upon by an angry mob firing bullets at his feet.
Rabuka was bold enough to fire the first shot by appointing David Ashton-Lewis in the first place, presumably suspecting the “rotten circumstances” – his words – surrounding Barbara Malimali’s appointment. He was bold enough to spend $2-million of your hard-earned money on a three month judicial investigation. But now that the findings of that investigation are in front of him, he evidently hasn’t got the guts to proceed.
Or maybe he is summoning up the guts to proceed. We are about to find out. But these latest excuses don’t exactly inspire confidence. They tell us that Sitiveni Rabuka is “all hat and no ranch”, as the Texans put it. He is happy to wave his six-gun in the air and play the big man but in a genuine firefight, ducks for the nearest cover and leaves those relying on him for protection exposed.
Two and a half years ago, the Fijian people put their trust in Rabuka to lead again. Yet as successive developments have shown, he simply isn’t up to the task. And his critics like Ro Naulu Mataitini are right. It is time for him to step aside for someone with the guts (and the brains) to lead properly. Someone worthy of tackling the nation’s multiple challenges, including the corruption that has gripped the nation’s institutions and threatens our democracy altogether.
Barbara Malimali is evidently telling friends that she is safe and that as an iTaukei woman, she doesn’t have to kowtow to foreigners. She may well be safe, for the moment. But the Prime Minister would do well to ponder whether he is safe if Malimali remains in place and he continues to put his allegiance to his cabinet colleagues before the national interest and the truth.
Graham,
AG is involved in Malimali’s appointment. he went behind PM back to get her appointed, when PM directed him to hold on the appointment as she was about to be charged. He got a call from the Election Commissioners who were facing ficac charges to have Malimali appointed and block the case against them. COI recommended Grahame Leung’s removal as AG. I was there also.
Thanks for the good work. One man, just because of one man, millions of public funds wasted. Ms Puleiwai & Saumi lost their jobs.
Valuable time wasted by government who should be focusing on other issues
An internal investigation would have solved these investigations.
Ashton & others benefited.
Just because of one man.
That man no other than BI-MAN.
People will trust Rabuka because most Fijians are uneducated racist fools themselves.
Rabuka plays with the minds of these gullible and low IQ voters. They cant see beyond their noses. They would happily see their kids turn to drugs and crime under Rabuka but will not turn against him as he saved them against the Vulagi who would have by now turned Fiji into an economy bigger than NZ if not for the 1987 coup.
Let’s see how much more this treasonist who should have been in prison for his crimes rather than the PM is able to f#@k Fiji and Fijians before he hits the deck.
Agree 💯 @No shame.
This previous comment is worth reposting. Not to say ‘I told you so,’ rather to remind all of the lizard snake we are dealing with:
Anonymous says
May 19, 2025 at 5:23 pm
Sona Rolex Snake will say the CoI are merely findings and gives government no directions or instructions on what to do next.
The bastard will say the commission merely suggested possible action, therefore he is not obliged to follow any adverse finding. Or that government is not required to report possible criminal actions uncovered-such as illegal appointment of FICAC titti, illegal dismissal of witnesses, other illegal conduct by lawyers acting for karia Baimaan, law society, the drunk chief registrar and Santa claus himself (refusing let CP return to his job) for refusing to suspend FICAC titti. The AG and other trying to shut down and disrupting the Commission. It will be a long laundry list about that we can be sure from the esteemed Ashton-Lewis.
Sona Rolex has already hinted that he will seek further legal opinion and and/or interpretation and/or legal guidance on what to do next.
Who will provide this legal review–Santa Clause CJ? The wishy washy AG? The government’s go-to legal advisors at Butt Street? Solicitor General? Ha! Ha!
No one will lose their jobs. No one will be charged. No one will be convicted. No one will go to jail.
Maybe the snake will appoint another commission to look into the commission of inquiry!
Anything is possible except not to release the report.
NOTHING will happen as a consequence.
Mark these words.
End report text.
@ no shame. bigger than NZ? That is some story for the bati ni tanoa. The tragedy of 1987 is the indecision of the Itaukei on honour, the presumption of loss, and right, in law and to god. The reality is, the vulagi must accept that only the Itaukei can make things right in this land.
You say that Rabuka is treating Fijians as idiots and he thinks they are stupid. Exactly right – they are both. They elected him didn’t they and that includes you. But enough of that.
What people do not realise is the man loves to bask in glory. When the attention is all on him and he makes people wait , that makes him feel important. He has made people wait for almost 40 years to tell the “truth” at the TRC. He is going to be basking in glory there too.
When he tells the “truth” all the idiots in Fiji will love him even more for what he did to save the idiots from the vulagi.
Fijians love to be idiots, it is a tradition. Why else would they elect Dickhead No.. 1 to lead them.
My take is no one will lose their job. Even the President will be there in his nappies white washing the whole thing.
I doubt the President has all his faculties in place to make any decisions while his nappies are soiled, but most importantly, everything must be done the iTaukei traditional way – the right way.
Would to be too much to ask you to put on another record? This one has become tedious in the extreme. As in broken.
But that is the only problem in Fiji. Unless you address that and fix it, nothing will change! I do not have a solution to this problem. I doubt anyone has. So with all your endless diatribe on Tabuya, Malimali, Radrodro, Baimaan, Rabuka, CJ and everyone else, nothing will change.
And instead of accusing me of sounding like a broken record, you should look in the mirror.
And it must hurt every time I say you voted for these idiots.
I didn’t vote for them. I am in exile. I urged people to vote for the NFP and Biman Prasad falsely believing that they would keep the bastards honest. It was a mistake that I bitterly regret. But I am far from being the only one who was deceived.
That doesn’t absolve you of sounding like a broken record. I wouldn’t mind the occasional repetition. But you bleat on about everyone being idiots every single bloody day.
You’re like a pop star who has had only one hit but expects to have it repeated on the radio ad infinitum. Enough already.
We are all idiots except “Idiots everywhere” who believes he/she is the only genius under the sun, in at least Fiji, or linked somehow to Fiji. A genius will not have the characteristic of repeating statements. He/she may have some kind of a disorder or syndrome then. I recall from university someone saying that those who keep repeating the same or similar statements do demonstrate that not much is upstairs. Hence, the repetitive repetitions as nothing new or creative is coming out of the mill.
Rabuka is old and feeble. He’s certainly not fit for the job as we have found out. Not only does he not have the decency to the right thing by the public and release the report, but he doesn’t have the guts to fire the worst finance minister in Fiji’s history, namely Baimaan. This PM’s allegiance to Baimaan is greater than his allegiance to the citizens of Fiji. Even to the point of damaging his own prime ministership, his own government, and his country. It’s the worst case of misplaced loyalty that we have seen. Only someone stupid and senile would do something like this. Someone unfit to be prime minister.
GD, every word is true.
If you had prepared this report tax payers would have saved 2 Million Dollars.
Rabuka is perhaps assessing the repercussions of the recommendations and to advise the President to release the report and to implement the recommendations of the COI. In that repercussion is perhaps the RFMF included and if turns out for the worst what, who and how to contained the situation/event that may unfold. He is possibly getting updates/briefs by the hour from RFMF & Police Intelligence Units and from his own trusted sources and others implicated in the COI. His bravery will be tested now vs the 1987 Coup.
My predictions
I am sorry to say but the tagline will be that “In the best interest of the nation the PM and the PoF has decided not to publicly release the commission’s report”
2026 Rolex Rambo will be back as PM and Baimaan again deputy PM.
Easy to win as no credible opposition and a lot of migration.
Keep blaming 16 years of dictatorship and continue with the rorts and corruption.
Continue to divide and rule, discrimination, high crime, poor health, drugs etc
And life will be normal in Paradise.
It is not only the Opposition MP leaders, not only some media that want the COI report released to the public. PM – The people, that you promised to bring freedom to, are singing…on social media to voice their thoughts on this.
Do you hear the people sing, singing a song of angry men? A people who will not be slaves again.
Regards, The Miserables, putting up with the oppression of the elite wealthy powers in leadership..
The PM’s lies have spread across the government machinery. The highly decorated newly appointed FCCC CEO assured the public two weeks ago that there would be no cement shortage after the temporary shutdown of Pacific Cement Ltd.
Today, after I placed at order with Vinod Patel’s, staff said “Cement shortage now, you can come back check tomorrow or Friday, set nah?”
Seems like fake news then from the CEO, so Police should also “take her to task” as Commissioner Rusi and the authorities would say.
https://www.fijivillage.com/business/No-cement-shortage-expected-amid-temporary-mill-repairs—FCCC-54fx8r/
Like you say Rambuka’s trapped between a rock and a hard place with these findings.
How will he get Salesi Temo’s support to change the constitution, if he gets suspended as per the recommendation of the COI inquiry.
The snake has his priorities.
Sad that we have to go through this path to beg and ask for COI report to be released. It paints a very bad image and doesn’t sit well with this current government’s reputation.
There have been some wins with this government like the restoration of the Great Council of Chiefs with the opening of their GCC complex yesterday. This was a promise they delivered during the last election. Some are still progressing but slowly like removing of 2013 Constitution which we all know was forced upon the people of Fiji.
The way the Coalition government handles this CIO report is going to be one of those make or break issues come the next election. 16 years of Bainimarama and Khaiyum’s lies, and dictatorship leadership style was widely rejected in the last poll. This Government will make sure they will not repeat the same mistakes.
Widely rejected??
Bainimarama winning more than 100000 votes snd FFP winning most seats isn’t what you call widely rejected.
Anyway both Biman and Rabuka will die a slow and painful death in politics or otherwise.
Bainimarama and Khaiyum were miles better than this lot. You speak as if those who occupy the seats of power today do not lie. They are the biggest liars in Fijian political history, and they are dumb enough to regularly get caught doing it.
Can anyone foresee the real-world impacts of what you term as “wins” for this Government? How will the everyday Fijian benefit from these so-called wins? How will the country progress? One GCC member has already asked Government to reject foreign investment – a key avenue for growth in other developing countries. Not in Fiji, it seems.
This government has also moved to systematically and deliberately weaken our independent institutions, including the judiciary, police, DPP, FICAC, and others. These institutions undergird our democracy and are the last line of defence against political corruption. To weaken them is to weaken our democracy and is akin to, if not worse than, a dictatorship. Again, your obsession with Bainimarama-Khaiyum blinds you to the reality unfolding in plain sight.
Enough with the obsession with the past 16 years. You are simply parroting a Government talking point that is nothing more than a deflection to avoid accountability for three years (and counting) of weak governance, corruption and false bravado — which you are oafishly enabling.
Come on Rabuka…do the RIGHT thing….release it. Prove us all wrong.
To digress, Mahendra Reddy has penned an excellent piece on his FB page regarding government’s land buy back scheme for the indigenous for which Dougla Biman has allocated $10m in the budget. Mahendra rightly asked who is the most landless community in Fiji? The answer of course is Indo Fijians. At least iTaukei ministers are doing something for their people. As Mahendra questions, why haven’t Biman and Charan Jeath Singh written a paper for the landless in their community? The answer is that Biman is too busy cutting ribbons, opening toilet doors, being chief guest, keynote speaker, attending conference, raising taxes and collecting revenue to fund their pay increase and other government extravagances. . He has done absolute f..ck all for the people who are in real need. Charan Jeath is no different. Looking after his own interests first and half the time drowning in whiskey. These two are the biggest curse on Indo Fijians.
“ Lots on my mind
For now:
Land buy back scheme
Who are the real landless community in Fiji?
Did I read the article correctly…the cabinet paper was to buy land and resettle Fijians of Indian origin?
Yes agree, before you attack, I didn’t do it when I was in Cabinet, but at least the current lot can or it will be a 2026 agenda?
For the last two decades, we see our so called vocal minority, the intellectuals counting number of ships that came with indentured labor, how many, whether there were any brahmans, etc, etc
Year in year out…same tables, same graphs, same story,…,the only progress is we see AI now used to decorate these.
These lot are stuck in the past, looking for recognition, to be relevant .
Have you ever heard of a futuristic proposal to ensure the fulfillment of the dreams of the girmityas….,naaa… more on annual meet and greet, conference, money, gallery etc.
All the religious bodies are doing their own things…fighting in annual elections and squabbling on little personal issues.
Over the last 10 years, i have seen how disunited our Hindus are in Fiji…they will not recognise their own intellectuals , invite others of other religious groups as chief guests, just for some short term personal gains… despite the struggles since 1987, we have not learnt.
This is precisely why good people are dejected, depressed, frustrated and saying i have had enough .
As usual, you see the personal attacks piling on me.
Stop this and stop counting boats…go get Charan and Biman to submit a paper to buy back land to settle decendents of girmityas for good…not to argue which boat came first.
Doc”