*In our editorial judgment, the redacted recommendations of the COI Report must be PUBLISHED, and NOW! |  |
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*Here are the key highlights from Justice David Ashton-Lewis’s recent on‑air interview on 4CRB (Gold Coast), following the submission—but pre-release—of his COI report:
Top Highlights from Justice Lewis’s Interview
1. Nine individuals implicated for serious misconduct
*He revealed that nine people, including some senior figures, were found to have lied under oath, committed perjury, or obstructed the course of justice during the appointment process reviewed by the COI.
2. Advice to Prime Minister to act swiftly
*Lewis disclosed that he advised Prime Minister Rabuka to implement the COI recommendations before making the report public, to prevent anyone from seeking injunctions that could block release or implementation .
3. “Crocodiles in the pond” metaphor
*Describing the political environment, he likened senior political circles to a crocodile-infested pond, highlighting the need for vigilance against entrenched, self-serving actors .
4. Reference to a “wannabe Prime Minister”
*Though unnamed, he said one implicated person is a “wannabe PM” who publicly supports the government but secretly works to undermine it—widely believed to refer to Deputy PM Kamikamica .
5. “A particular woman… universally regarded as corrupt”
*He implied one female appointee was brought in to protect those accused of wrongdoing, stating she was “universally regarded as corrupt”—a strong inference pointing to Malimali .
6. Acknowledgment of Janet Mason’s role
*Despite later concerns, Lewis praised Janet Mason, his senior counsel, calling her “one of the best lawyers I’ve worked with in 50 years” .
7. Clarification on use of COI findings
*He emphasized that while the COI uncovered potential criminal conduct, it is up to the ODPP and Fiji Police to pursue any charges. He noted that COI findings alone are not evidence in court .
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 The comments from Commission of Inquiry Commissioner and Supreme Court Judge Justice David Ashton-Lewis regarding the ‘wannabe Prime Minister’ certainly sounds like me but he needs to clarify who he is referring to. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade, Manoa Kamikamica stressed this after the COI Chair said that he revealed to Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka the ‘crocodiles in the pond’ at Rabuka’s asking. |  |
While speaking to an Australian community based radio station, 4crb, Justice Ashton-Lewis says there are always going to be aggrieved people who think they can do it better and one of these people that he identified was someone who is all smile at his face and will stab him in the back if they get the chance.
He says one of them is a ‘wannabe’ Prime Minister.
The Deputy Prime Minister says the Commissioner has abused the law because everyone was told that they can't talk about the report.
He says the rules were set for the COI that no one was to say anything until the President decides what to do with the report.
Kamikamica says he has refused to answer any questions on the COI because they were under direct instruction and he will reserve his comments when the report comes out. The Deputy Prime Minister further says he has publicly come out and posted on facebook that he is very supportive of the release of the report.
When asked if he ever intended to be the Prime Minister, Kamikamica says he never joined politics to become Prime Minister and he just wanted to get rid of the last government after 16 years of mismanagement and wrong rule.
The Deputy Prime Minister adds that he never asked the Prime Minister to be Deputy Prime Minister.
Kamikamica says he finds the "wannabe PM" comment as pathetic and ignorant.
He adds it is also very insulting to him and his family.
Kamikamica says he and his wife sacrificed heaps to fight the last regime.
He stresses that he never asked the Prime Minister about being Prime Minister and never will. The Deputy Prime Minister says anybody that knows Manoa Kamikamica knows that he works hard and allows what he does in his career to determine progression. He says he is what they call a high performer, and he always believes if you work hard, you will find success, or more appropriately success will find you. Kamikamica stresses that his focus is to rebuild Fiji, they have no time to waste, they have one Leader, the Prime Minister whom he supports 100 percent.
He says one of them is a ‘wannabe’ Prime Minister.
The Deputy Prime Minister says the Commissioner has abused the law because everyone was told that they can't talk about the report.
He says the rules were set for the COI that no one was to say anything until the President decides what to do with the report.
Kamikamica says he has refused to answer any questions on the COI because they were under direct instruction and he will reserve his comments when the report comes out. The Deputy Prime Minister further says he has publicly come out and posted on facebook that he is very supportive of the release of the report.
When asked if he ever intended to be the Prime Minister, Kamikamica says he never joined politics to become Prime Minister and he just wanted to get rid of the last government after 16 years of mismanagement and wrong rule.
The Deputy Prime Minister adds that he never asked the Prime Minister to be Deputy Prime Minister.
Kamikamica says he finds the "wannabe PM" comment as pathetic and ignorant.
He adds it is also very insulting to him and his family.
Kamikamica says he and his wife sacrificed heaps to fight the last regime.
He stresses that he never asked the Prime Minister about being Prime Minister and never will. The Deputy Prime Minister says anybody that knows Manoa Kamikamica knows that he works hard and allows what he does in his career to determine progression. He says he is what they call a high performer, and he always believes if you work hard, you will find success, or more appropriately success will find you. Kamikamica stresses that his focus is to rebuild Fiji, they have no time to waste, they have one Leader, the Prime Minister whom he supports 100 percent.
COI Judge reveals: Intrigue, Deceit, Disloyalty, Lies.
Shocking revelation from Justice David Ashton-Lewis, Supreme Court judge who carried out the Commission of Inquiry: 9 people had lied under oath or had obstructed the course of justice.
This included members of Cabinet, including a “wannabe prime minister”, the Judge said in a surprising interview he gave to the Gold Coast, Australian Radio 4CRB’s The Judge programme on 29 May.
He also revealed that Prime Minister Rabuka had requested he speak out: ‘David would you please reveal the crocodiles in the pond’ - and I have,” the Judge said.
“ I found there were 9 people who had done things such as lied under oath. That’s called perjury.
“I found 9 of them obstructed the course of justice. And that they also perverted the course of justice in the appointment of this particular woman,” he said referring to former FICAC Commissioner Barbara Malimali’s appointment.
“In other words it became apparent in the investigation that this particular woman was shunted very quickly through the processes to get in.
“Now the question then arises: Why? What was the hurry? Why was she so important? Well, the rest of the evidence showed she was so important because she would do evil people’s designs.”
His recommendations against the 9 are part of the 71 recommendations the Judge makes in the COI Report.
Justice Ashton-Lewis said they were, therefore, aware that attempts would be made to stop the report coming out through court injunctions to stop the report being made public.
His advice to the Prime Minister then was to act on the recommendations before releasing the report. “ This would cut the ground from under them.”
FLP has already criticized strong attacks made by some in the legal fraternity to undermine the credibility of Janet Mason, counsel assisting the COI.
Also interesting is Justice Ashton-Lewis’ comments on a “wannabe prime minister”:
“ One of these people (the 9) that I identified was someone who’s well known – they all smile at his face and stab him in the back if they get the chance. And one of them is a wannabe prime minister, and he thinks he should be.
“Well, if Sitiveni Rabuka acts, he’s never going to be prime minister, because I found disgraceful things that he was doing, yet smiling to the Prime Minister: I’m your greatest loyal man. Well, he wasn’t.
“ And in law… none protest their innocence so loudly as the guilty, none protest their honourability so loudly as the dishonourable. He fits into that category.”
No names were mentioned by the Judge.
To put the Judge’s remarks in context, he was asked to inquire into the “rotten” circumstances surrounding the rushed appointment of Barbara Malimali as FICAC Commissioner on the very day Finance Minister Biman Prasad was to be charged by FICAC with multiple counts of making false declarations under the Political Parties Act.
Immediately on her taking office, the charges were dropped, and later she cleared him of any wrong doing.
Former minister Lynda Tabuya was also cleared of any wrong-doing.
Altogether 5 ministers had been referred to FICAC for investigation by the Registrar of Political Parties: others included DPM Manoa Kamikamica, Filimoni Vosarogo and acting AG Siromi Turaga.
What a government we have!
Shocking revelation from Justice David Ashton-Lewis, Supreme Court judge who carried out the Commission of Inquiry: 9 people had lied under oath or had obstructed the course of justice.
This included members of Cabinet, including a “wannabe prime minister”, the Judge said in a surprising interview he gave to the Gold Coast, Australian Radio 4CRB’s The Judge programme on 29 May.
He also revealed that Prime Minister Rabuka had requested he speak out: ‘David would you please reveal the crocodiles in the pond’ - and I have,” the Judge said.
“ I found there were 9 people who had done things such as lied under oath. That’s called perjury.
“I found 9 of them obstructed the course of justice. And that they also perverted the course of justice in the appointment of this particular woman,” he said referring to former FICAC Commissioner Barbara Malimali’s appointment.
“In other words it became apparent in the investigation that this particular woman was shunted very quickly through the processes to get in.
“Now the question then arises: Why? What was the hurry? Why was she so important? Well, the rest of the evidence showed she was so important because she would do evil people’s designs.”
His recommendations against the 9 are part of the 71 recommendations the Judge makes in the COI Report.
Justice Ashton-Lewis said they were, therefore, aware that attempts would be made to stop the report coming out through court injunctions to stop the report being made public.
His advice to the Prime Minister then was to act on the recommendations before releasing the report. “ This would cut the ground from under them.”
FLP has already criticized strong attacks made by some in the legal fraternity to undermine the credibility of Janet Mason, counsel assisting the COI.
Also interesting is Justice Ashton-Lewis’ comments on a “wannabe prime minister”:
“ One of these people (the 9) that I identified was someone who’s well known – they all smile at his face and stab him in the back if they get the chance. And one of them is a wannabe prime minister, and he thinks he should be.
“Well, if Sitiveni Rabuka acts, he’s never going to be prime minister, because I found disgraceful things that he was doing, yet smiling to the Prime Minister: I’m your greatest loyal man. Well, he wasn’t.
“ And in law… none protest their innocence so loudly as the guilty, none protest their honourability so loudly as the dishonourable. He fits into that category.”
No names were mentioned by the Judge.
To put the Judge’s remarks in context, he was asked to inquire into the “rotten” circumstances surrounding the rushed appointment of Barbara Malimali as FICAC Commissioner on the very day Finance Minister Biman Prasad was to be charged by FICAC with multiple counts of making false declarations under the Political Parties Act.
Immediately on her taking office, the charges were dropped, and later she cleared him of any wrong doing.
Former minister Lynda Tabuya was also cleared of any wrong-doing.
Altogether 5 ministers had been referred to FICAC for investigation by the Registrar of Political Parties: others included DPM Manoa Kamikamica, Filimoni Vosarogo and acting AG Siromi Turaga.
What a government we have!
