‘Confront the past’: OB challenges Rabuka

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has been challenged to show the courage to confront his past by removing the constitutional immunity that protects him and others.

The appeal came from former schoolmate Penisoni Gauna, who once regarded Mr Rabuka as a hero.

Mr Gauna, who attended Queen Victoria School (QVS) when Mr Rabuka was head boy in 1967, made the appeal in an open letter submitted to the Prime Minister during the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026 consultation in Somosomo, Taveuni, yesterday.

In his letter, Mr Gauna recalled an incident from their school days when Mr Rabuka stood up to a senior student who was bullying a junior boy, leaving a lasting impression on him.

Mr Gauna recalled that Mr Rabuka slapped the senior student who had tried to bully his classmate.

When school head Joeli Temo questioned Mr Rabuka during a meeting, the future prime minister said he would do the same again if a senior student bullied a junior.

The incident helped shape Mr Gauna’s view of Mr Rabuka as a young man prepared to stand up for what was right.

However, Mr Gauna questioned how that image had changed over the years, describing Mr Rabuka as a deeply polarising figure in Fiji.

“After watching you all these years, Steve, the question I often ask myself is what happened to that just and noble head boy of ours,” he wrote.

Mr Gauna also referred to the 1987 coup led by Mr Rabuka, arguing that it had inflicted serious damage on the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, which he believed was only now beginning to recover.

He acknowledged that Mr Rabuka had made positive contributions to Fiji, describing him as a brave man with a strong belief in God.

However, he said the courage Mr Rabuka had shown in 1987 should now be directed towards removing constitutional immunity.

“If for the time you have left in your life, you can summon up that courage to trust in God and dismantle from the Constitution the very immunity that shields you and others, if you can confront the past and not manage it, then you will leave behind a more accountable democracy in our beloved Fiji and we will have peace in our time then,” Mr Gauna wrote.

He said confronting the past, rather than managing it, would give Fiji an opportunity to strengthen accountability and build a more peaceful democracy.

Mr Gauna’s appeal comes as the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026 is being considered through public consultations, with constitutional immunity among the issues raised in the national debate.