pn936. Former Fiji PM Voqere Bainimarama sentenced to one year's jail

Bainimarama with cloth covering handcuffs
"so that his grandchildren would not see them."

Fiji's most popular leader in recent times and former PM 69-year old  Frank Bainimarama has been sentenced to one year's jail for "perverting the course of justice" by Acting Chief Jusice Selesi Temo.  Former Police Chief  Sitiveni Qiliho who acted on Bainimarama's instruction was sentenced to two years. 

The maximum penalty possible was 5 years for Bainimarama and 10 years for  Qiliho. 

Both had previously had the charges dismissed in the Magistrate's court by Magistrate Seini Puamau but her ruling was overruled by Acting Chief Justice Temo (see pn923).

The charges stem from an instruction in 2019 by Bainimarama to stop an investigation into claims by the then new  University of South Pacific's Vice-Chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwahia of alleged financial mismanagement by the administraton under the previous USP VC the late Professor Rajesh Chandra*, pertaining to questionable appointments, contract renewals, leave payments and back pay.

It is interesting to note that similar charges have been made against the VC's of Fiji's other two universities, the University of Fiji and the Fiji National University.   University of Fiji VC Professor Shaista Shameem says "complaints were likely to be put together by several 'identifiable disgruntled former management and academic staff.'"(see pn 825). And so could the complaints at USP. In my post of 5 February 2021 I noted there were 33 cases of alleged mismanagement against Professor Ahluwahia. Such is Fiji. What goes around comes around. 

I have previously commented that it is unusual for an incoming VC to criticize a previous administration, which seemed pointless anyway since there was no way of reversing appointments and renewals or recovering the alleged money lost in leave- and back pay.  I thought the new VC should "get on with the job" of administering the university and healing the divisions among his staff.

While the USP charge is questionable, the Rabuka government has made it clear that that they would "get" Bainimarama one way of another. With the slim majority in parliament and serious charges against some of its coalition partners government needed to find a way to distract attention from government and discredit the largest party in parliament Bainimarama's Fiji First Party. In the 55-seat parliament FF has 26 seats, Rabuka's People's Alliance has 21, the National Federation Party 5 and SODELPA 3.

If this charge had failed, it is rumoured they had another 30 charges they thought they could use against Bainimarama.

Imprisonment means that Bainimarama cannot stand in another election for several years unless he can get the judgment overturned  by appeal. This stands a good change of succeeding if the judges are independent, which Acting Chief Justice Temo most certainly is not.

 * Disclosure. Rajesh Chandra was a former student of mine in the 1960 and a senior colleague and friend in the 1990s.

-- ACW