Former Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama at the Togo Police Remand Center in Suva, Fiji, March 9, 2023. LEON LORD / AFP
Former Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama will appear in court in Suva on Friday March 10 to face charges of abuse of authority, police said, months after his defeat in the last election that ousted him from his position. job.
The prosecutors of the Republic of Fiji brought this charge against Frank Bainimarama but also against Sitiveni Qiliho, an important political ally of this figurehead of the opposition, suspended from his post of police commissioner in January by President Wiliame Katonivere.
Abuse around a “police investigation”
Acting Deputy Commissioner Sakeo Raikaci said in a statement that the two men would remain in custody until they were brought before a court in the capital. They are accused of having abused the authority conferred by their respective functions to “end an ongoing police investigationsaid Christopher Pryde, who is leading the public prosecution.
Details of the investigations are not known, but the case is linked to the activities of former staff at Fiji’s University of the South Pacific in July 2019.Further charges may be brought against other suspects in due courseadded Christopher Pryde, without giving further details.
Frank Bainimarama served as prime minister from 2007, following a bloodless coup the previous year, until the last elections in December 2022. He finally resigned his mandate on Wednesday March 8 Member of Parliament after being suspended for three years by Parliament. In a speech, he criticized his successor, Sitiveni Rabuka, as well as Wiliame Katonivere. According to him, Sitiveni Rabuka has failed in his duty to protect the Constitution, “almost dailyflouted by the new government.
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