Commissioner ordered police dismissals, high court told
Lockdown case involved police officers who photographed alleged drug suspect in taxi.
Wednesday 06 August 2025 | 05:00
ON TRIAL... Former Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho. and former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama outside the High Court in Suva on August 5. 2025.
Photo: Ronald Kumar
Former Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho allegedly ovverruled a tribunal's recommendation and ordered the dismissal of two police officers who had photographed former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama's brother during a 2021 police spot check.
Qiliho is charged with two counts of abuse of office while Bainimarama faces one count of making unwarranted demands.
The charges relate to their alleged involvement in halting a police investigation into a complaint about the treatment of Jonacani Bainimarama-the former Prime Minister's brother-during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021.
The trial opened at the High Court in Suva yesterday with claims of interference, after officers photographed Jonacani in a suspected drug incident.
The case stems from a lockdown operation in which officers Penieli Ratei and Tomasi Naulu photographed Jonacani, who was allegedly found with drugs in his taxi.
The image was later circulated in a Viber group chat named “COVID-19 Operation”, with Naulu captioning it: “known suspect – defaulter”.
Anil Prasad, who chaired the police tribunal at the time and is now a practising lawyer, testified that he had recommended only minor penalties—a five-day pay deduction for Ratei, two days for Naulu, and written warnings.
He told the court that while the photography breached police rules, the officers were simply following orders.
Defence lawyer Devanesh Sharma cited Section 18 of the Police Act 1965, which bars officers from photographing civilians who are not in custody or charged.
He argued the image and caption were unlawful.
Deputy Director of Human Resources Jovilisi Leweniqila confirmed this, telling the court that Qiliho had issued urgent written instructions for a “show cause” process to begin—giving the officers only three days to respond instead of the standard 14.
“He was in authority, and I had no right to override his decision,” Leweniqila said.
Opposition Leader Inia Seruiratu, who was Minister for Defence at the time, also took the stand. He said he never interfered in police matters and followed constitutional and ministerial guidelines.
He added that former Acting Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu had once told him that his relationship with Bainimarama was “not good”.
The trial continued today.
