Former Fijian prime minister Frank Bainimarama was released on bail yesterday after he and the nation’s suspended police commissioner were arrested the day before and held overnight in jail.
Bainimarama and Fijian Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho pleaded not guilty to a single charge of abuse of office.
Prosecutors said the pair terminated an active police investigation into former staff members of the University of the South Pacific.
Photo: AFP
Police were continuing their investigation and could lay more charges, prosecutors said.
The development adds another twist to the volatile political situation on the Pacific island nation, where Bainimarama in December lost a tense election to Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
Bainimarama, 68, was last month suspended from parliament for three years for insulting the president, and this week he resigned from parliament in protest.
A former military commander, Bainimarama held power in Fiji for 16 years after seizing the top job by force in a 2006 military coup. He later recast himself as a democratic leader by introducing a new constitution and winning elections in 2014 and 2018.
However, Rabuka, another former leader, won December’s election by a razor-thin margin. Rabuka had led Fiji’s first military coup in 1987 and later served as an elected prime minister in the 1990s.
Fijian Director of Public Prosecutions Christopher Pryde said in a statement that Bainimarama and Qiliho had “arbitrarily and in abuse of the authority of their respective offices, terminated an active police investigation” after a complaint was laid with the police by the university in July 2019 in relation to “the activities of former staff members.”
Police said the pair were detained for questioning on Thursday and underwent video-recorded interviews before being formally charged and held at the Totogo Police Station. They were arraigned at the Suva Magistrates’ Court.
Fijian Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Sakeo Raikaci said he also wanted to “clear the air” over claims by the public that the investigation had been prolonged and subject to interference by senior officers.
“I want to reiterate the independence of the investigation processes in place, as what is being witnessed is not an attempt to purposely delay the investigation or questioning processes, but this is the proper manner in which investigations are to be conducted,” Raikaci said in a statement.
Located north of New Zealand, Fiji is home to about 1 million people and is a popular tourist destination.
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