Ex-Elections Supervisor accused of destroying documents, claiming illegal tax refunds

The drafting and execution of former Elections Supervisor Mohammed Saneem’s second Deed of Variation was suspicious and falsified.
This was revealed by Fijian Elections Office (Fijian Elections Office) manager Legal, Mesake Dawai, in his testimony at the High Court in Suva today during the trial of Saneem and former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. The pair appeared before Chief Justice Salesi Temo.
Mr Dawai recounted the internal investigations he conducted after allegations of tax reimbursement were referred to his office by then Acting Supervisor of Elections, Ana Mataiciwa, last year. He said that during the investigation, his first approach was to the financial controller, Romika Sewak, where the complaint had been lodged.
Mr Dawai told the court that of all the people he interviewed, Ms Sewak was the only one who had a copy of the first Deed of Variation. He claimed in court that all other copies had been destroyed under strict instructions from Saneem.
He told the court that all the other copies were destroyed under strict instructions from Saneem. Mr Dawai said Ms Sewak told him she had kept a copy of the first Deed of Variation to prove that Saneem’s back pay had already been paid out to him. He further testified that the drafting of the two Deeds was suspicious, claiming they were prepared on two different occasions but signed on the same date.
He told the court Saneem’s actions were self-centered and self-enriching.
Following a follow up, the Constitutional Offices Commission (COC) confirmed it had neither discussed nor approved any tax reimbursements on Saneem’s back pay, raising concerns as the incidents occurred around the 2022 General Election year.
From his experience working with Saneem, Mr Dawai claimed Saneem had often showed favouritism to the now deregistered FijiFirst party (FFP). He referred to an instance where he claimed that Saneem waivered the Electoral Act on the conditions of endorsing political parties Declarations of Office Holders. 
Mr Dawai said the declarations were not signed when they were received by FEO, and by law, they could not be endorsed until it has been consented, signed and dated by the party. 
He said when Saneem was confronted about it, he was told to sign and put a date on the letter. Mr Dawai said he refrained from doing so and told him that it did not comply with the Electoral law. 
Mr Dawai said he was once pulled aside by Saneem one evening at the office, where Saneem told him that, according to former Attorney-General Sayed-Khaiyum, his drafting of the party nominations letter was incorrect and should be changed.
He told the court that he argued against this and felt bullied, but ultimately gave in to Saneem because he was the Supervisor of Elections. The defence objected to this evidence, arguing that it was never mentioned in Mr Dawai’s earlier statement and amounted to a “trial by ambush.”