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SUVA: Former Fiji prime minister Frank Bainimarama was found guilty Thursday of illegally shutting down a sensitive police investigation.
Bainimarama, a former military commander who became an elected leader, was convicted by the High Court of perverting the course of justice while leading the South Pacific island nation.
The charges related to a police investigation into staff at Fiji’s University of the South Pacific in July 2020, when Bainimarama was prime minister.
He had been found not guilty of the charge by a magistrates’ court in October last year, but the case was then sent to Suva’s High Court following an appeal by the prosecution.
Acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo found the former prime minister guilty of one count of perverting the court of justice.
Suspended police commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho was convicted of one count of abuse of office.
Temo said the lower court had “erred in law and in fact” on multiple points when conducting the original case that acquitted Bainimarama and his then-police chief.
Following the guilty verdicts, the High Court sent both men back to the magistrates’ court for sentencing on March 28.
A high-ranking official from the university testified last year that staff had initially tried to blow the whistle after stumbling across an allegedly suspicious web of bonus payments, promotions and pay rises within the university.
But once those claims reached police, it was alleged that Bainimarama used his influence to sideline the investigation.
The 69-year-old former naval commodore seized power in a bloodless coup in 2006, leading the Pacific archipelago until he was voted out in December 2022.
The former leader’s legal woes have mounted since he was succeeded by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
In February 2023, parliament suspended him until 2026 after a speech in which he criticised Rabuka.
Just last month, he was hit with two separate abuse-of-office charges.
One count related to the allegedly unlawful firing of two police officers in 2021.
The other was over his alleged waiving of a tender bid “without lawful justification” when he was finance minister in 2011.
Bainimarama, a former military commander who became an elected leader, was convicted by the High Court of perverting the course of justice while leading the South Pacific island nation.
The charges related to a police investigation into staff at Fiji’s University of the South Pacific in July 2020, when Bainimarama was prime minister.
He had been found not guilty of the charge by a magistrates’ court in October last year, but the case was then sent to Suva’s High Court following an appeal by the prosecution.
Acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo found the former prime minister guilty of one count of perverting the court of justice.
Suspended police commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho was convicted of one count of abuse of office.
Temo said the lower court had “erred in law and in fact” on multiple points when conducting the original case that acquitted Bainimarama and his then-police chief.
Following the guilty verdicts, the High Court sent both men back to the magistrates’ court for sentencing on March 28.
A high-ranking official from the university testified last year that staff had initially tried to blow the whistle after stumbling across an allegedly suspicious web of bonus payments, promotions and pay rises within the university.
But once those claims reached police, it was alleged that Bainimarama used his influence to sideline the investigation.
The 69-year-old former naval commodore seized power in a bloodless coup in 2006, leading the Pacific archipelago until he was voted out in December 2022.
The former leader’s legal woes have mounted since he was succeeded by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
In February 2023, parliament suspended him until 2026 after a speech in which he criticised Rabuka.
Just last month, he was hit with two separate abuse-of-office charges.
One count related to the allegedly unlawful firing of two police officers in 2021.
The other was over his alleged waiving of a tender bid “without lawful justification” when he was finance minister in 2011.
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