Saneem allegedly instructed HR coordinator to shred evidence

The Human Resource Coordinator at the Fijian Elections Office, Epeli Naidrodro, has told the High Court that former Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem instructed him to destroy all copies of his first Deed of Variation and keep the matter confidential.

Mr Naidrodro is the fifth State witness in the trial against Saneem and former Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.

During the alleged incident, Mr Naidrodro, along with HR Manager Afreena Hussein, attended a closed meeting with Saneem to discuss his salary increase from $221,794 to $350,000.

“I was walking towards my desk when I was called over by Saneem in the kitchen,” Mr Naidrodro said.
“There he instructed me to destroy every other copy of the first Deed of Variation that we had and to keep the conversation confidential as political parties may make an issue out of it, if it surfaced.”

He said the HR department had only been aware of the second Deed, issued on June 26, 2022, and had never received a copy of the first.

The second Deed, which replaced the first, included new provisions for the government to cover Saneem’s taxes except for his ordinary tax obligations.

HR Manager Confirms Missing Deed

Afreena Hussein testified that the first Deed had been filed after Saneem’s backpay was paid out. She said when the second Deed came into play, the first went missing.

“The second Deed did not come first to the HR department as it should have. Instead, it went directly to the financial controller, Romika Sewak, who edited his payroll before it came to us,” Ms Hussein said.

During cross-examination, defense counsel pointed out a clause in Saneem’s contract allowing him to request confidentiality. Mr Naidrodro reiterated that he was instructed to destroy copies of the first Deed.

When asked by Chief Justice Salesi Temo what was unlawful about Saneem’s request for the government to pay his tax, Mr Naidrodro replied that, to his knowledge, every employee paid their own taxes and he had never seen government-paid taxes for an employee before.

Former Secretary to the President Testifies

Former Secretary to the Office of the President, Kiti Moumou Temo, also testified. She said she handled a letter sent to the President’s Office from the Solicitor General regarding Saneem’s revised remuneration.

“Ms Prasad told me the letter was for information purposes for the President, after which it should be tabled and filed away. I never discussed any of this with the President,” Ms Temo said.

She confirmed in court that she did not know about a second letter until police contacted her for an affidavit. Ms Temo is scheduled for cross-examination today.