Mother mourns daughter found dead in cane field

Adi Vasiti Ranadi should have been celebrating her daughter's 20th birthday on Saturday. Instead, she is preparing to bury her.

Kolora Nasau Buli's partially decomposed body was found in a sugarcane field in Korovuto, Nadi, last Sunday; the second teenage body discovered in Fiji within days.

Police confirmed the identity of the body on Friday, deepening public concern after the body of another teenage boy was found decapitated in Tamavua-i-Wai on December 30.

For Ms Ranadi, a mother of six, the confirmation ended days of fear and uncertainty that began with a social media post she never imagined would have involve her own child.

"I saw the news about a woman found dead in Korovuto and wondered how such a terrible thing could happen,” she said. 

“I did not know it was my daughter.” 

Ms Buli was from Namara Village in Yasawa and shared maternal links to Viseisei Village in Vuda. 

She spent most of her childhood living with her mother in Viseisei Village before moving to Nadi, where she lived with friends. 

Ms Ranadi said her daughter had left home some time ago, despite repeated efforts to guide her back. 

“We tried our best to guide her and stop her from mixing with the wrong crowd, but she did not listen,” she said. 

“Even so, she was still my child, and I always love her.” 

The last time Ms Ranadi saw her daughter alive was during a village function in early December, when she again urged her to return home. 

“That was the last time I saw her,” she said. 

Days later, police contacted Ms Ranadi and asked her to identify a body at the Nadi Hospital. 

“When I went and saw the condition of the body, I was too frightened,” she said. 

“I could not bring myself to say whether it was my daughter.” 

Unable to return for a second visit, she asked her brother, Solomoni Nala, to go in her place. 

“He recognised an operation scar on her chest,” she said. 

Ms Ranadi said her daughter was born with chronic heart disease and underwent surgery in Australia as a child. 

“Doctors told me she might not live past seven years old,” she said. 

“We travelled to Australia for her operation, and the scar from that surgery was still there.” 

Police had earlier been trying to establish the woman’s identity when a young man from Korovuto recognised a flip-flop found at the scene, which he claimed he had given to the deceased shortly before Christmas. 

Funeral arrangements have not yet been made. 

Ms Ranadi said police had requested blood samples from her and her daughters for forensic testing in Suva as investigations continue. 

She hopes the investigation will lead to justice. 

“I just want to know what happened to my child,” she said. 

Police investigations into the matter continue.