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Former Fiji PM Frank Bainimarama jailed for a year
5 days ago
Frances Mao, BBC News
Fiji's long-serving former prime minister Frank Bainimarama has been sentenced to a year in prison for obstructing a police investigation into corruption.
Bainimarama, 70, is one of the most high-profile politicians in the Pacific Islands, having led Fiji for more than15 years until he was voted out in 2022.
On the international stage he was also a leading representative lobbying for climate change action for vulnerable Pacific countries.
He was taken away in handcuffs after the High Court's ruling on Thursday.
Last month he was convicted of perverting the course of justice during a police investigation into university fraud.
Prosecutors alleged he had told his friend, the former Fijian Police Commissioner, to drop a 2020 investigation into abuses of finances at the University of South Pacific which included alleged bonuses, promotions and pay rises to staff.
Bainimarama pleaded not guilty to the charges but a court in April found he and the police chief Sitiveni Qiliho had used their power to sideline the investigation at the university, one of the leading tertiary educations in the region.
He was initially spared a jail term last month at his sentencing when a lower court magistrate also ruled for his conviction to not be recorded.
But that verdict was challenged by Fiji's top prosecutors who launched an appeal.
On Thursday, the country's high court quashed the lower court's ruling and handed down prison sentences for both men.
Qiliho, who has been suspended from his role, was sentenced to two years in prison.
Outside the court, supporters of Bainimarama who had gathered to hear the verdict sung hymns while governing politicians praised the verdict.
"The court case and sentencing shows... that people who break the law, doesn't matter who they are, they are brought to account," Unity Fiji party leader Savenaca Narube said.
Political watchers have noted the timing of the criminal cases brought against Bainimarama.
He is facing several allegations of political abuse after losing the tight vote in December 2022 to current PM Sitiveni Rabuka, who led a coalition of parties.
Last year, Bainimarama as an opposition leader was also suspended from parliament for three years after giving a speech where he criticised the new government.
His political party FijiFirst is standing by him. “Bainimarama will continue to be the leader of the FijiFirst party. Come 2026, we will deal with it,” party senior Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said according to local media reports.
Fiji's ex-leader, Frank Bainimarama, sentenced to prison for interfering in police investigation
Former Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has been sentenced to a year in prison for interfering in a criminal investigation while leading the government of his South Pacific island nation
By ROD MCGUIRK, Associated Press
May 9, 2024, 4:56 PM
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Former Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama was sentenced Thursday to a year in prison for interfering in a criminal investigation while he headed the government of his South Pacific island nation.
Acting High Court of Fiji Chief Justice Salesi Temo sentenced the 70-year-old in the capital Suva on a conviction for attempting to pervert the course of justice. Suspended Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho received a 2-year prison sentence on a conviction for abuse of office, The Fiji Times newspaper reported.
Bainimarama had led his government for 16 years, first as a military dictator following a 2006 coup and then as a prime minister who was democratically elected in 2014 and 2018. After the 2022 election, he was succeeded by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who also first seized power as a coup leader in 1987.
Bainimarama was prime minister in 2019 when he ended a police investigation into allegations of financial mismanagement at the University of the South Pacific.
The university is owned by 12 Pacific Island nations and its main campus is in Suva. The university’s administration had alleged to police that abuses of funding and mismanagement had been happening for a decade.
Prosecutors alleged the prime minister and police commissioner ended an active police investigation into former university staff members. Prosecutors said police were continuing their investigation and could lay more charges.
A lower court judge had acquitted Bainimarama and Qiliho of the charges last October. But prosecutors successfully appealed to the High Court, which convicted them both.
Bainimarama did not react when his sentence was read out, but his wife Mary Bainimarama broke down in tears as she sat by his side in court, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
His lawyers said they would appeal, but Temo rejected their application to have Bainimarama released on bail pending an appeals court hearing.
Police led Bainimarama from court in handcuffs to a van that took him to a prison outside Suva.
Bainimarama, a former military commander, first seized power in Fiji in a 2006 bloodless coup. He retained office through winning democratic elections in 2014 and 2018.
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