"Was the Acting Chief Justice [Salesi Temo] part of a conspiracy, involving Seni Paumau and Attorney General, Siromi Turaga, to engineer Christopher Pryde’s removal? It is inconceivable that a magistrate would be reckless enough to try to recruit spies in the DPP’s office without the official imprimatur of more senior figures in the system. Justice Temo has some pressing questions to answer, including why he failed to act on Christopher Pryde’s request to suspend Puamau for conduct that in any other circumstances, would result in a magistrate’s dismissal and possible charges for wilfully undermining the integrity and independence of the DPP."
GRAHAM DAVIS, Grubsheet
 Resident Magistrate Seini Puamau |   |
Clear evidence has emerged of a high-level conspiracy within the criminal justice system to remove the suspended Director of Public Prosecutions, Christopher Pryde, four years into his seven year contract not on the grounds of competence or performance but on the grounds of ethnicity.
In an explosive memorandum obtained by Grubsheet that was sent by Christopher Pryde to all staff at the Office of the DPP on February 8, the DPP details an attempt by the resident magistrate, Seini Puamau, to recruit informants within the ODPP to spy on him and provide her with confidential information on internal conversations within the office. (document above)
It is an extraordinary document that lays bare one of the most astonishing episodes in the history of the criminal justice system in Fiji – a DPP accusing a magistrate of subverting him with his own staff and formally referring her to the Acting Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, and the Judicial Services Commission. Yet even more extraordinary is that Justice Temo did nothing to act on Christopher Pryde’s request that Seini Paumau be suspended. Nor is there evidence of any investigation being conducted into the complaints against her. Which raises an extremely serious question with grave implications for the rule of law in Fiji.
Was the Acting Chief Justice part of a conspiracy, involving Seni Paumau and Attorney General, Siromi Turaga, to engineer Christopher Pryde’s removal? It is inconceivable that a magistrate would be reckless enough to try to recruit spies in the DPP’s office without the official imprimatur of more senior figures in the system. Justice Temo has some pressing questions to answer, including why he failed to act on Christopher Pryde’s request to suspend Puamau for conduct that in any other circumstances, would result in a magistrate’s dismissal and possible charges for wilfully undermining the integrity and independence of the DPP.
On the contrary, it is Christopher Pryde who has been removed. So let’s just go through the timeline of all of this, which Grubsheet revealed in our posting on Wednesday that has since been republished by Victor Lal’s FijiLeaks but has still to reach the mainstream media in Fiji. The Pryde memo on Seini Paumau is hard evidence and there is no longer any excuse for the mainstream media to ignore a story that is becoming more perplexing and sinister by the day.
· We now know that Seini Puamau was allegedly trying to recruit spies in the DPP’s office sometime before Feburary 8.
· Grubsheet has revealed that a week later, I received a message from a reader that Christopher Pryde would soon be replaced by David Toganivalu.
· On February 21, I wrote to Biman Prasad asking him if it was true that Pryde was being replaced. The Deputy Prime Minister came back saying the he had spoken to the Attorney General and Siromi Turaga had said it was “bullshit”. That was a lie.
· Seven days later, Christopher Pryde was photographed in conversation with Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum at the Japanese Embassy residence in a roomful of people. He maintains that he was unaware that any police file on the ousted AG had reached the ODPP and there was no reason to snub him.
· Some time after that, Siromi Turaga summoned the DPP to his office, presented him with the photographs and demanded a written apology, telling Pryde that once he received that letter it would be the end of the matter. That too was a lie. Because soon afterwards, the DPP received a letter from the Acting Chief Justice saying that he had received a formal complaint from the AG and that the matter was being referred to the Judicial Services Commission.
· And then, of course, the JSC advised H.E the President to suspend Christopher Pryde on a complaint of misbehaviour by the Attorney General for meeting Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum when it is now clear that David Toganivalu had been lined up to replace him as DPP well before Pryde’s encounter with Khaiyum.
The fact that Christopher Pryde has been suspended but no action has been taken against the magistrate trying to recruit his staff to spy on him carries the whiff of a very big rat indeed. In any other jurisdiction, it would be enough to trigger a high level investigation into the conduct of Seini Puamau, Salesi Temo and Siromi Turaga. But not in Fiji. Instead we get the Home Affairs Minister , Pio Tikoduadua, saying there is “no cause for concern” about the circumstances of Christopher Pryde’s suspension when there is actually cause for considerable alarm
.
The Fijian people deserve a full accounting of what at face value appears to be a shocking attempt to set up the DPP and remove him four years into a seven year contract not for engaging in conversation with Khaiyum but because the new government was gunning for him to replace him with an iTaukei. Those involved may think they can escape the scrutiny of a supine media even with the shackles of MIDA removed. But they will not escape the scrutiny of the three judges who will eventually make up the Tribunal that will hear the complaint of misbehaviour against Christopher Pryde. Because this is now a full-blown scandal.
Biman Prasad told the National Economic Summit yesterday that the nature of democracy means that he has to embrace the flying bricks as well as the bouquets in his own decision-making. Well a hail of bricks is coming his way for failing to use his influence to save the man who happens to have saved Prasad's own political career - and enabled the Coalition victory - with his decision not to charge the NFP leader over the Taniguchi affair in the lead-up to the December election.
Grubsheet understands that Biman Prasad told the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, to exercise caution in removing Christopher Pryde but stopped short of saying it was unacceptable. Which is adding to a groundswell of opinion that the NFP leader is enabling Siromi Turaga’s pro-indigenous agenda, assault on the institutions of state and flagrant law breaking on the secular state rather than acting to prevent it.
Biman Prasad ignores sentiments like the following at his peril – a message from one of Grubsheet’s regular correspondents:
“I was at a large indo-fijian function during the long weekend and believe me I did not meet a single person who expressed any praise of the NFP. In fact people were referring to Biman as "Baimaan" meaning someone who has betrayed.
The anti-NFP feeling is widespread. If an election were to be called today, take my word, Graham, FijiFirst will walk in with a sizeable majority and NFP will be sent into the wilderness.”
In an explosive memorandum obtained by Grubsheet that was sent by Christopher Pryde to all staff at the Office of the DPP on February 8, the DPP details an attempt by the resident magistrate, Seini Puamau, to recruit informants within the ODPP to spy on him and provide her with confidential information on internal conversations within the office. (document above)
It is an extraordinary document that lays bare one of the most astonishing episodes in the history of the criminal justice system in Fiji – a DPP accusing a magistrate of subverting him with his own staff and formally referring her to the Acting Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, and the Judicial Services Commission. Yet even more extraordinary is that Justice Temo did nothing to act on Christopher Pryde’s request that Seini Paumau be suspended. Nor is there evidence of any investigation being conducted into the complaints against her. Which raises an extremely serious question with grave implications for the rule of law in Fiji.
Was the Acting Chief Justice part of a conspiracy, involving Seni Paumau and Attorney General, Siromi Turaga, to engineer Christopher Pryde’s removal? It is inconceivable that a magistrate would be reckless enough to try to recruit spies in the DPP’s office without the official imprimatur of more senior figures in the system. Justice Temo has some pressing questions to answer, including why he failed to act on Christopher Pryde’s request to suspend Puamau for conduct that in any other circumstances, would result in a magistrate’s dismissal and possible charges for wilfully undermining the integrity and independence of the DPP.
On the contrary, it is Christopher Pryde who has been removed. So let’s just go through the timeline of all of this, which Grubsheet revealed in our posting on Wednesday that has since been republished by Victor Lal’s FijiLeaks but has still to reach the mainstream media in Fiji. The Pryde memo on Seini Paumau is hard evidence and there is no longer any excuse for the mainstream media to ignore a story that is becoming more perplexing and sinister by the day.
· We now know that Seini Puamau was allegedly trying to recruit spies in the DPP’s office sometime before Feburary 8.
· Grubsheet has revealed that a week later, I received a message from a reader that Christopher Pryde would soon be replaced by David Toganivalu.
· On February 21, I wrote to Biman Prasad asking him if it was true that Pryde was being replaced. The Deputy Prime Minister came back saying the he had spoken to the Attorney General and Siromi Turaga had said it was “bullshit”. That was a lie.
· Seven days later, Christopher Pryde was photographed in conversation with Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum at the Japanese Embassy residence in a roomful of people. He maintains that he was unaware that any police file on the ousted AG had reached the ODPP and there was no reason to snub him.
· Some time after that, Siromi Turaga summoned the DPP to his office, presented him with the photographs and demanded a written apology, telling Pryde that once he received that letter it would be the end of the matter. That too was a lie. Because soon afterwards, the DPP received a letter from the Acting Chief Justice saying that he had received a formal complaint from the AG and that the matter was being referred to the Judicial Services Commission.
· And then, of course, the JSC advised H.E the President to suspend Christopher Pryde on a complaint of misbehaviour by the Attorney General for meeting Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum when it is now clear that David Toganivalu had been lined up to replace him as DPP well before Pryde’s encounter with Khaiyum.
The fact that Christopher Pryde has been suspended but no action has been taken against the magistrate trying to recruit his staff to spy on him carries the whiff of a very big rat indeed. In any other jurisdiction, it would be enough to trigger a high level investigation into the conduct of Seini Puamau, Salesi Temo and Siromi Turaga. But not in Fiji. Instead we get the Home Affairs Minister , Pio Tikoduadua, saying there is “no cause for concern” about the circumstances of Christopher Pryde’s suspension when there is actually cause for considerable alarm
.
The Fijian people deserve a full accounting of what at face value appears to be a shocking attempt to set up the DPP and remove him four years into a seven year contract not for engaging in conversation with Khaiyum but because the new government was gunning for him to replace him with an iTaukei. Those involved may think they can escape the scrutiny of a supine media even with the shackles of MIDA removed. But they will not escape the scrutiny of the three judges who will eventually make up the Tribunal that will hear the complaint of misbehaviour against Christopher Pryde. Because this is now a full-blown scandal.
Biman Prasad told the National Economic Summit yesterday that the nature of democracy means that he has to embrace the flying bricks as well as the bouquets in his own decision-making. Well a hail of bricks is coming his way for failing to use his influence to save the man who happens to have saved Prasad's own political career - and enabled the Coalition victory - with his decision not to charge the NFP leader over the Taniguchi affair in the lead-up to the December election.
Grubsheet understands that Biman Prasad told the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, to exercise caution in removing Christopher Pryde but stopped short of saying it was unacceptable. Which is adding to a groundswell of opinion that the NFP leader is enabling Siromi Turaga’s pro-indigenous agenda, assault on the institutions of state and flagrant law breaking on the secular state rather than acting to prevent it.
Biman Prasad ignores sentiments like the following at his peril – a message from one of Grubsheet’s regular correspondents:
“I was at a large indo-fijian function during the long weekend and believe me I did not meet a single person who expressed any praise of the NFP. In fact people were referring to Biman as "Baimaan" meaning someone who has betrayed.
The anti-NFP feeling is widespread. If an election were to be called today, take my word, Graham, FijiFirst will walk in with a sizeable majority and NFP will be sent into the wilderness.”
