Rakuita Vakalalabure
Encyclopedia
Ratu
Rakuita Saurara Vakalalabure (born 1962) is a Fiji
an lawyer and politician. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1999 and following the elections after the 2000 political uphevals was a candidate of the Conservative Alliance
(CAMV). He was re-elected to the House of Representatives
, winning the Cakaudrove West
Fijian
Communal Constituency
in the parliamentary election
of 2001, following in the footsteps of his father, Ratu Tevita Vakalalabure
, who was Vunivalu (Paramount Chief) of Natewa, in Cakaudrove Province, and who served in both houses of Parliament from the 1970s to the 1990s. He was subsequently appointed Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, but on 5 August 2004, he was sentenced to six years' imprisonment for his role in the Fiji coup of 2000
.
for a science degree in 1981 but left in 1983 to join the RFMF and completed six tours of duty with the Fijian Military in South Lebanon. He went on to complete a law degree
at Bond University
in Queensland, Australia and later received his masters degree in Law from England. After returning to Fiji, he served as a state prosecutor for four years under the then-Director of Public Prosecutions
, Nazhat Shameem
and three years as Legal Officer and Board Secretary for the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji. In an ironic twist, he was later to be convicted and sentenced for coup-related offences by Shameem, now a judge.
Vakalalabure was also a reserve officer in the Fijian army. He was dismissed by Military
commander Commodore
Frank Bainimarama
for insubordination
, for refusing to return to barracks while the 2000 coup was in progress.
, the chief instigator of the coup. An investigation had uncovered incriminating documents in a briefcase belonging to Vakalalabure, and he was filmed being sworn in as Minister for Justice in an emotional ceremony. He was jailed in Korovou prison, alongside former Vice-President Ratu Jope Seniloli
, Peceli Rinakama
, Viliame Volavola, and Viliame Savu.
He was allowed out of prison on 17 May 2005 to attend the funeral of his father, who had died on 6 May.
On 25 May 2005, the High Court
upheld an earlier decision of the Parliamentary Speaker, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau
, to expel Vakalalabure from Parliament for nonattendance. Vakalalabure sued, claiming that Nailatikau's refusal to grant him leave of absence from the House for more than two sessions breached British parliamentary rules, on which Fiji's are based. Justice Filimoni Jitoko, however, struck out Vakalalabure's claim, ruling that Nailatikau's actions were constitutional
and followed precedent.
Ratu Rakuita Vakalalabure was also deregistered by the Fiji Law Society
and disbarred from practicing. This decision has been appeal
ed to the Court of Appeal
.
lawyer Iqbal Khan announced on 30 August 2005 that he had filed an application on behalf of Vakalalabure and of Ratu Inoke Takiveikata
, who was also convicted of coup-related offenses, to have their convictions quashed. Khan claimed that the two had been denied a fair trial according to Section 29 of the Constitution of Fiji, as the trial assessors had been handpicked and therefore possibly biased.
At a court appearance on 17 October 2005, Vakalalabure argued that his conviction was invalid, as the treason charge is subject to a two-year statute of limitations
which had expired by the time of his being charged and that the sentence was wrong as it reflected other offences not attributable to Vakalalabure or to which he was not allowed to respond to. On this basis, he claimed, he was entitled to a retrial.
The decision on Vakalalabure's final appeal was delayed after judge Shameem (who had convited Vakalalabure) applied for the Supreme Court to reconstitute its panel of three judges as she believed they would be biased. The Supreme Court refused her application and it was the first time in Fiji that a judge whose decision is appealed against had made such an application. Cost were ordered against her and the State.
On 15 June 2006, Chief Justice
Daniel Fatiaki
, as president of the Supreme Court
, reduced Vakalalabure's prison sentence from six years to four, finding that others convicted with him had received lesser sentences. He was released on 6 July 006]and served the remaining five months of his sentence on community work with a Christian organisatiion in Suva].
declared Rakuita's parliamentary seat vacant on 8 June 2005 and issued a writ
for a byelection, which was expected to cost F$
450,000. His older brother, Ratu Osea Vakalalabure announced his candidacy, though as a candidate for the United Fiji Party of Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase
, rather than the CAMV to which Ratu Rakuita belongs, but withdrew on 22 June in favour of the CAMV candidate, Niko Nawaikula
, who was declared elected unopposed, thus averting the byelection.
Ratu
Ratu is a title used by Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, Adi is used by females of chiefly rank.-Etymology:Ra is a prefix in many titles and Tu is simply "chief"...
Rakuita Saurara Vakalalabure (born 1962) is a Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
an lawyer and politician. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1999 and following the elections after the 2000 political uphevals was a candidate of the Conservative Alliance
Conservative Alliance (Fiji)
The Conservative Alliance was a far-right political party in Fiji, and a member of the ruling coalition government. It was commonly known as the CAMV, a combination of the initials of its English and Fijian names...
(CAMV). He was re-elected to the House of Representatives
House of Representatives (Fiji)
The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament. It is the more powerful of the two chambers; it alone has the power to initiate legislation...
, winning the Cakaudrove West
Cakaudrove West (Fijian Communal Constituency, Fiji)
Cakaudrove West Fijian Provincial Communal is an electoral division of Fiji, one of 23 communal constituencies reserved for indigenous Fijians....
Fijian
Fijian people
Fijian people are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in an area informally called Melanesia. The Fijian people are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago, though the exact origins of the Fijian people are unknown...
Communal Constituency
Communal constituencies (Fiji)
Communal constituencies have been the most durable feature of the Fijian electoral system. In communal constituencies, electors enrolled as ethnic Fijians, Indo-Fijians, Rotuman Islanders, or General Electors vote for a candidate of their own respective ethnic groups, in constituencies that have...
in the parliamentary election
Fiji election of 2001
The Constitution of Fiji was restored by a High Court decision on 15 November 2000, following the failure of the political upheaval in which the government had been deposed and the constitution suspended in May that year. On 1 March 2001, the Appeal Court upheld the decision. An election to...
of 2001, following in the footsteps of his father, Ratu Tevita Vakalalabure
Tevita Vakalalabure
Ratu Tevita Vakalalabure was a Fijian chief and politician.Ratu Vakalalabure held the chiefly title of Vunivalu of Natewa, one of the three senior titles in Cakaudrove Province. He served as a Senator in the 1990s, becoming President of the Senate before winning the Cakaudrove West Fijian...
, who was Vunivalu (Paramount Chief) of Natewa, in Cakaudrove Province, and who served in both houses of Parliament from the 1970s to the 1990s. He was subsequently appointed Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, but on 5 August 2004, he was sentenced to six years' imprisonment for his role in the Fiji coup of 2000
Fiji coup of 2000
The Fiji coup of 2000 was a complicated affair involving a civilian putsch by hardline Fijian nationalists against the elected government of a non-native Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, on 19 May 2000, the attempt by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority on 27 May, and...
.
Education and early career
Vakalalabure studied at the University of the South PacificUniversity of the South Pacific
The University of the South Pacific is a public university with a number of locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. It is an international centre for teaching and research on Pacific culture and environment. USP's academic programmes are recognised worldwide, attracting students...
for a science degree in 1981 but left in 1983 to join the RFMF and completed six tours of duty with the Fijian Military in South Lebanon. He went on to complete a law degree
Law degree
A Law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers; but while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not themselves confer a license...
at Bond University
Bond University
Bond University is a private university located in Robina, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is also the first private university established in Australia...
in Queensland, Australia and later received his masters degree in Law from England. After returning to Fiji, he served as a state prosecutor for four years under the then-Director of Public Prosecutions
Director of Public Prosecutions (Fiji)
The Director of Public Prosecutions was created under the Fiji Independence Act of 1970 and came into being that year. In 1990 and subsequently in 1997, the powers of the Office of the DPP were provided for in the Fiji Constitution, an entrenched document and the supreme law of the nation...
, Nazhat Shameem
Nazhat Shameem
Nazhat Shameem is a former Fiji Indian judge.She was appointed to the bench in 1999 as Fiji's first, and 2007 so far only, Indo-Fijian female High Court judge...
and three years as Legal Officer and Board Secretary for the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji. In an ironic twist, he was later to be convicted and sentenced for coup-related offences by Shameem, now a judge.
Vakalalabure was also a reserve officer in the Fijian army. He was dismissed by Military
Military of Fiji
The Republic of Fiji Military Forces are the military of the Pacific island nation of Fiji. With a total manpower of 3,500 active soldiers and 6,000 reservists, it is one of the smallest militaries in the world. However, most of its surrounding island nations have no militaries at all...
commander Commodore
Commodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
Frank Bainimarama
Frank Bainimarama
Commodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, CF, MSD, OStJ, Fijian Navy, known commonly as Frank Bainimarama and sometimes by the chiefly title Ratu , is a Fijian naval officer and politician. He is the Commander of the Fijian Military Forces and, as of April 2009, Prime Minister...
for insubordination
Insubordination
Insubordination is the act of willfully disobeying an authority. Refusing to perform an action that is unethical or illegal is not insubordination; neither is refusing to perform an action that is not within the scope of authority of the person issuing the order.Insubordination is typically a...
, for refusing to return to barracks while the 2000 coup was in progress.
Treason conviction
Vakalalabure, who was taken hostage as a member of parliament at the time of the insurrection, was found guilty of illegally accepting and taking an oath of office for a ministerial position in the rebel government proposed by George SpeightGeorge Speight
George Speight , occasionally known as Ilikimi Naitini, was the principal instigator of the Fiji coup of 2000, in which he kidnapped thirty-six government officials and held them from May 19, 2000 to July 13, 2000...
, the chief instigator of the coup. An investigation had uncovered incriminating documents in a briefcase belonging to Vakalalabure, and he was filmed being sworn in as Minister for Justice in an emotional ceremony. He was jailed in Korovou prison, alongside former Vice-President Ratu Jope Seniloli
Jope Seniloli
Ratu Jope Naucabalavu Seniloli is a Fijian chief who holds the title of Turaga Taukei Naua and who served as Fiji's Vice-President from 25 March 2001 to 29 November 2004, when he was forced to resign following his conviction for treason on August 6 2004, and the rejection of his appeal early in...
, Peceli Rinakama
Peceli Rinakama
Peceli Rinakama is a politician in Fiji and a former member of the Parliament of Fiji.-2000 coup and aftermath:Rinakama was elected to Parliament in the 1999 election, representing the constituency of Naitasiri for the Fijian Association Party. During the 2000 Fijian coup d'état, he joined the...
, Viliame Volavola, and Viliame Savu.
He was allowed out of prison on 17 May 2005 to attend the funeral of his father, who had died on 6 May.
On 25 May 2005, the High Court
High Court (Fiji)
The High Court of Fiji is one of three courts established by Chapter 9 of the Constitution of Fiji—the others being the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The Constitution empowers Parliament to create other courts; these are subordinate to the High Court, which is authorized to oversee all...
upheld an earlier decision of the Parliamentary Speaker, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau
Epeli Nailatikau
Brigadier-General Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, CF, LVO, OBE, MSD, OStJ, is a Fijian chief and the current President of Fiji. He has had a long career in the Military, diplomatic service, and government...
, to expel Vakalalabure from Parliament for nonattendance. Vakalalabure sued, claiming that Nailatikau's refusal to grant him leave of absence from the House for more than two sessions breached British parliamentary rules, on which Fiji's are based. Justice Filimoni Jitoko, however, struck out Vakalalabure's claim, ruling that Nailatikau's actions were constitutional
Constitution of Fiji
The 1997 Constitution of Fiji was the supreme law of Fiji from its adoption in 1997 until 2009 when President Josefa Iloilo purported to abrogate it. It was also suspended for a period following the 2000 coup d'état led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama....
and followed precedent.
Ratu Rakuita Vakalalabure was also deregistered by the Fiji Law Society
Fiji Law Society
The Fiji Law Society is the official body that registers and regulates the activity of all lawyers in Fiji. Devanesh Sharma was elected to replace Graeme Leung as President of the Fiji Law Society on 9 September 2006, and as such he holds membership ex officio on the Judicial Service Commission...
and disbarred from practicing. This decision has been appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
ed to the Court of Appeal
Court of Appeal (Fiji)
The Court of Appeal of Fiji is one of three courts established by Chapter 9 of the Constitution, the others being the High Court and the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal was a new institution established when the 1997 Constitution came into effect; the other two courts predated it...
.
Sentence appealed and reduced
LautokaLautoka
Lautoka is the second largest city of Fiji and the second largest in the South Pacific. It is in the west of the island of Viti Levu, 24 kilometres north of Nadi, and is the second port of entry in Fiji, after Suva. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane growing region, it is known as the Sugar...
lawyer Iqbal Khan announced on 30 August 2005 that he had filed an application on behalf of Vakalalabure and of Ratu Inoke Takiveikata
Inoke Takiveikata
Ratu Inoke Takiveikata is a Fijian high chief and politician. Since 1997 he has held the title of Qaranivalu, a senior chiefly title in Naitasiri Province...
, who was also convicted of coup-related offenses, to have their convictions quashed. Khan claimed that the two had been denied a fair trial according to Section 29 of the Constitution of Fiji, as the trial assessors had been handpicked and therefore possibly biased.
At a court appearance on 17 October 2005, Vakalalabure argued that his conviction was invalid, as the treason charge is subject to a two-year statute of limitations
Statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
which had expired by the time of his being charged and that the sentence was wrong as it reflected other offences not attributable to Vakalalabure or to which he was not allowed to respond to. On this basis, he claimed, he was entitled to a retrial.
The decision on Vakalalabure's final appeal was delayed after judge Shameem (who had convited Vakalalabure) applied for the Supreme Court to reconstitute its panel of three judges as she believed they would be biased. The Supreme Court refused her application and it was the first time in Fiji that a judge whose decision is appealed against had made such an application. Cost were ordered against her and the State.
On 15 June 2006, Chief Justice
Chief Justice (Fiji)
The Chief Justice is Fiji's highest judicial officer. He or she is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister, who is required by the Constitution to consult the Leader of the Opposition. This does not give the Leader of the Opposition a veto, only the right to be consulted. ...
Daniel Fatiaki
Daniel Fatiaki
Taniela Vafo'ou Fatiaki CF was the Chief Justice of Fiji from 1 August 2002, when he succeeded Sir Timoci Tuivaga, till 5 December 2008. As Chief Justice, he presided over both the High Court and the Supreme Court, but is constitutionally barred from presiding over, or even sitting on, the...
, as president of the Supreme Court
Supreme Court (Fiji)
The Supreme Court of Fiji is one of three courts established by Chapter 9 of the Constitution, the others being the High Court and the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court is declared to be "the final appellate court of the State" - in other words, there is no judicial authority higher than the...
, reduced Vakalalabure's prison sentence from six years to four, finding that others convicted with him had received lesser sentences. He was released on 6 July 006]and served the remaining five months of his sentence on community work with a Christian organisatiion in Suva].
Expulsion from Parliament
Following the High Court's decision, President Ratu Josefa IloiloJosefa Iloilo
Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda, CF, MBE, MSD, KStJ was the President of Fiji from 2000 until 2009, excluding a brief period from 5 December 2006 until 4 January 2007 . He held the traditional title of Tui Vuda, the paramount chief of the Vuda district in Ba Province on Fiji's northwest coast...
declared Rakuita's parliamentary seat vacant on 8 June 2005 and issued a writ
Writ
In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court...
for a byelection, which was expected to cost F$
Fijian dollar
The dollar has been the currency of Fiji since 1969 and was also the currency between 1867 and 1873. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively FJ$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
450,000. His older brother, Ratu Osea Vakalalabure announced his candidacy, though as a candidate for the United Fiji Party of Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase
Laisenia Qarase
Laisenia Qarase is a Fijian political figure. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase joined the Interim Military Government as a financial adviser on 9 June 2000, until his appointment...
, rather than the CAMV to which Ratu Rakuita belongs, but withdrew on 22 June in favour of the CAMV candidate, Niko Nawaikula
Niko Nawaikula
Niko Nawaikula is a Fijian politician, who was appointed to the House of Representatives on 22 June 2005. The Conservative Alliance candidate was declared elected unopposed, after the only other candidate, Ratu Osea Vakalalabure of the United Fiji Party withdrew from the contest, thus averting...
, who was declared elected unopposed, thus averting the byelection.