Son of coup victim calls for unity and healing
Maika Bakani urges Fijians to bury the ghosts of political upheaval, sharing his painful journey through grief and trauma.
Wednesday 08 October 2025 | 06:00
Fiji Truth and Reconciliation Commission public hearing with the Bakani family at the Suva Civic Centre on October 8, 2025.
Photo: Kaneta Naimatau
A Fijian who lost his father because of the 2006 coup, called on his fellow countrymen to unite and bury the ghosts of past upheavals forever.
Maika Bakani, the youngest son of late Native Land Trust Board (NTLB) general manager Kalivati Bakani told the Fiji Truth and Reconciliation Commission (FTRC) tearfully and shared how his father’s death has become a trauma he will live with forever.
He joined the hearing virtually from the United States, describing why he turned to alcohol and destructive behaviours after losing his father in Fiji’s prison in 2016.
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“When he passed away in 2016, I spiraled out of control,” Mr Bakani told the commissioners at the Suva Civic Centre today.
“I was drinking a lot, and doing whatever I could to numb myself from the pain.”
Maika Bakani, the youngest son of late Native Land Trust Board (NTLB) general manager Kalivati Bakani.
Photo: Supplied
Mr Bakani was just 13 years old when the 2006 coup took place. He was 24 when his father died.
“For my entire teenage years and early adulthood, our family lived under this atmosphere of fear and uncertainty,” he said.
He recalled the day soldiers escorted his father from the NLTB office and came home early with a serious look on his face.
“The next thing I knew, we were moving out of the house. And as a kid, I didn’t really know what was going on,” Mr Bakani said.
He said his father warned them to be mindful of what they said at home because they were being watched.
Despite scoring high marks in the Fiji School Leaving Certificate Examination, Mr Bakani could not secure a scholarship.
“I suspected it had something to do with this vendetta against my dad,” he said.
Mr Bakani said he remained very close to his father and thinks about him daily.
“I grieved not only for what happened to him, the injustices that happened to him, but also for the future that he was not here to see.”
He said he has one of his father’s prison diaries where his father wrote: “The night is darkest just before the dawn.”
Mr Bakani encouraged other affected families to engage with the FTRC process, saying there is healing to be found in sharing stories.
Feedback: kaneta.naimatau@fijisun.com.fj
