PM defends cost of Malimali Commission of Inquiry
Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu confirmed this week that no criminal charges arose from its findings.
Wednesday 22 July 2026 | 08:00
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says the multi-million-dollar Commission of Inquiry (COI) into Barbara Malimali’s FICAC appointment was worth every cent.
Mr Rabuka’s comment comes after Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu confirmed this week that no criminal charges arose from its findings.
Asked yesterday how he justified the cost to taxpayers, Mr Rabuka said the outcome cleared the officials investigated and named in the CoI.
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“What has come out of it is that those people have been exonerated. Otherwise, we would have been left with suspicion about those people. Now it’s all clear,” he said.
Mr Rabuka could not recall the exact cost but confirmed it ran into millions, and said the exact figure would only be released once the Government’s report went to Parliament.
“The public has no right to examine it until it goes to Parliament,” he said.
Commissioner Justice David Ashton-Lewis and counsel Janet Mason led the six-month inquiry, which ran from October 2024 to May 2025.
