MP, minister involved in separate defamation cases before High Court

Two high-profile defamation disputes involving an Opposition MP, a Cabinet minister, a former permanent secretary and an educational institution are before the High Court in Suva.

In one case, Pacific Polytech has sued Opposition MP Alvick Maharaj over public statements concerning the institution’s finances and governance.

In a separate case, Minister for iTaukei Affairs, Culture, Heritage and Arts Ifereimi Vasu has taken former permanent secretary Jone Navakamocea to court over alleged defamatory claims concerning his reputation and Fiji Holdings Limited dividend payments to the country’s 14 provinces.

Mr Navakamocea also made allegations linking Mr Vasu to convicted drug and sex trafficker Jason Zhong, which Mr Vasu has denied.

Polytech defamation case

Mr Maharaj published a statement in January calling for an investigation into Pacific Polytech’s funding and operations.

The statement alleged financial mismanagement, questioned the institution’s regulatory status and raised concerns about staff salary payments and the use of public funds.

Pacific Polytech claims the allegations were false, malicious and based on a parliamentary committee report that had since been withdrawn.

The institution claims the statements, which were circulated through social media, public commentary and newspaper reports, damaged its reputation among students, parents, Government agencies, donors and the wider public.

It also alleges that comments about its chairperson, Dr Ganeshwar Chand, falsely portrayed him as engaging in unethical and improper conduct.

Pacific Polytech is seeking general, punitive and exemplary damages, interest, indemnity costs and other relief the court considers appropriate.

The institution claims Mr Maharaj failed to verify the allegations before publishing them and ignored opportunities to raise concerns through parliamentary processes.

The matter was called yesterday before Master Vandhana Lal at the High Court in Suva.

Mr Maharaj’s lawyers were directed to convene a pre-trial conference in accordance with the court’s orders.

The matter will be called again on September 18 to check compliance by the defendants.

Minister Vasu’s case

Mr Navakamocea, represented by Karunaratne Lawyers, has responded to Mr Vasu’s claim, denying that his Facebook posts were defamatory.

He maintains the posts were factual and amounted to fair comment based on his personal experiences and information available to him.

He says the comments were shared mainly with friends and colleagues through his personal Facebook account and were intended to express his views rather than cause harm.

Mr Navakamocea also argues that some publications cited by Mr Vasu originated from third parties and should not be attributed to him.

His defence further argues that public officials, including ministers and MPs, are subject to greater public scrutiny than private citizens.

He maintains the statements concerned matters of public interest and that Mr Vasu must prove any harm alleged to have resulted from them.

Mr Navakamocea is asking the court to dismiss the claim, award him costs and grant any other appropriate relief.

He also claims he suffered professional consequences arising from the dispute while Mr Vasu continued to serve in public office.

No date has been given for the matter to be called.