Bulitavu Sides with Rabuku, Tikoisuva
“You can talk and cry, but the difference is very clear Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. Nancy Tikoisuva and John Rabuku are far much better in prosecution work than Mr Pryde," Mr Bulitavu said.
Monday 27 January 2025 | 14:20
New Coalition Government Minister Mosese Bulitavu has made an untraditional remark over what he posted as the power struggle occurring at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) turned Minister for Environment and Climate, Mr Bulitavu has defended former Acting DPP Nancy Tikoisuva and Deputy DPP John Rabuku.
On January 10, the senior management at ODPP lodged a fresh set of formal complaints to the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption against the reinstated Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Christopher Pryde.
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Ms Tikoisuva said the complaint stemmed from allegations of abuse of office resulting from gratuity payments without the President’s approval from 2013 to 2018, which were referred to FICAC.
Ms Tikoisuva said other allegations included obtaining a gratuity in 2023 over Mr Pryde’s entitlement, paying life insurance instead of superannuation, and paying airfares for family travels outside of the contractual terms.
The fresh complaint came four days after Mr Pryde was reinstated as DPP following his suspension on April 13, 2023.
Former A-G
Former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum questioned the validity of these new complaints.
In a detailed Facebook statement, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said: “The big picture and bottom line is that all of the above, the conundrums, the shenanigans, and the recent legal and constitutional debacles harm the rule of law,” he posted.
“We know negative impacts on the rule of law and a sense of perception that justice is not being done or served fundamentally erodes overall public confidence – for Fijians, the business community, our development partners, visitors, and potential foreign investors.
“It consequentially has a negative impact on our economy.”
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said these “actors” who are embroiled in these matters and Cabinet ministers and policymakers had to understand and realise that their actions and/or non-actions did not operate in isolation or conversely operated in a bubble.
He said their actions and/or non-actions had a tremendous impact and ramifications on our public, national, and international standing.
“We can only hope that those in positions of political power and influence will soon realise that for the current and long-term well-being of our country, this absurd situation has to be arrested and immediately remedied.”
Minister Bulitavu
Untraditional of a minister protocol, and defending ODPP, Mr Bulitavu said: “You can talk and cry, but the difference is very clear Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. Nancy Tikoisuva and John Rabuku are far much better in prosecution work than Mr Pryde.
“They have won cases that Pryde cannot even handle. We all know why you fighting for him! I will always remember when I was convicted during Mr Pryde’s tenure as DPP. I was convicted and later the High Court ruled that there was insufficient evidence.
“Why did you allow my case to continue Mr Pryde, if you knew there was no evidence?”
Mr Pryde who was due to resume duties on January 20, 2025, has deferred his return at ODPP to February 3, 2025, because of the new FICAC complaint.
Feedback: jone.salusalu@fijisun.com.fj
