End immunity, all coup perpetrators must face prison, Says Rinakama
Mr Rinakama argued that the only way to end Fiji’s coup culture was through accountability.
Wednesday 17 September 2025 | 19:30
Left: Ratu Peceli Rinakama. 2000 coup frontman George Speight who was also present at the lecture speaks with Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection Sashi Kiran.
Former politician Ratu Peceli Rinakama has called for all perpetrators of Fiji’s coups to face prison, saying the culture of granting immunity to coup instigators is undermining justice and the rule of law.
Raising a point during a public lecture by Professor Steven Ratuva titled “Turmoil and Hope: Where is Fiji Heading” at the Grand Pacific Hotel yesterday, Mr Rinakama reflected on how the 2000 coup had derailed his own political ambitions.
Mr Rinakama argued that the only way to end Fiji’s coup culture was through accountability.
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“There’s only one solution. Everyone who did it —send them to prison,” he said.
He said aspiring to become a parliamentarian was a promise he had made to his father, but this dream was shattered in the coup of 2000.
“I was also one of the victims of the 2000 coup. Aspiring to become a parliamentarian was a promise I made to my dad. This was foiled by the 2000 coup,” he told the gathering.
He criticised Fiji’s history of constitutional immunity provisions for coup-makers.
“Look at the Constitution—immunity for 1987, and in the 2013 Constitution another set of immunity. So where is Fiji heading?”
Mr Rinakama was one of Fiji‘s coup convicts jailed in 2004 for taking an illegal oath to commit a capital offence after being sworn in as a purported minister in George Speight’s failed administration.
He and Ratu Viliame Volavola were sentenced to three years but later released to serve the remainder extramurally.
At the time, Justice Nazhat Shameem said Mr Rinakama had betrayed his oath of office and his colleagues in the Chaudhry government, which he helped overthrow.
“I have done my part and served time. I was behind bars for two years, not as a coup instigator but as someone who assisted the coup.
“If Nelson Mandela was jailed for his country for more than 20 years, I cannot see a reason why people that instigated the coup are free,” he said.
Rinakama appealed to leaders and academics to find a fairer way forward.
“I am pleading to you all today, as leaders and as academics, come up with a solution which is better for everyone. The law in Fiji must be fair for everyone, inclusive.”
Mr Rinakama who was a former Social Democratic Liberal Party member and candidate contested the 2022 General Elections under the People’s Alliance banner.
