 | "The military has taken over the government, has executive authority and the running of this country. I have stepped into the President's SHOES.' |
"The government they want to set up will be totally illegal. What the military has done is RAPED our Constitution."
The Deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, 5 December 2006
Fijileaks: The Tailevu lad Rusiate Tudravu has spent 38 years in the Fiji Police Force and surely, like every other Police Officer, his penultimate dream must have been to lead his men. But no, in 2016, after getting rid of the South African Police Commissioner, Bainimarama forced Qiliho upon Fiji Police, to ensure his grip on the levers of power
 A former Fiji military commander, Sitiveni Qiliho, has been confirmed as the country's new police commissioner. The announcement was made this evening by the Constitutional Offices Commission, led by the prime minister Frank Bainimarama, which also confirmed Viliame Naupoto as the new military commander. Mr Bainimarama's brother-in-law, Francis Kean, a former Navy commander who in 2006 was convicted of manslaughter, has also been appointed as prisons commissioner. Mr Qiliho was appointed as acting police commissioner after the sudden resignation of Ben Groeneweld last year. Mr Groenweld swiftly left the country and returned to South Africa, and cited constant military interference in the work of the police. |  Mr Qiliho is the third senior military officer to run the police force since the 2006 coup. The Constitutional Offices Commission had declined to say how many people have applied for any of the positions. |
PM BAINIMARAMA RECEIVES ACTING COMMISSIONER OF POLICE Suva- The Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama this morning received a courtesy call from the acting Commissioner of Police Mr Rusiate Tudravu. Whilst receiving Mr Tudravu in his office, the Prime Minister said Mr Tudravu is “filling the big shoes” of Brigadier-General Sitiveni Qiliho who left for the United Kingdom for an extensive study placement at the Royal College of Defence Studies. Mr Tudravu is no stranger to the people of Fiji, having spent about 38 years in the Fiji Police Force with experiences which spans across the work of ensuring law and order in the country. He graduated from the University of the South Pacific with a Certificate in Management Studies, he also undertook a Management Development Program from the Queensland Police Academy; attained a Certificate in Applied Management at the Australian Institute of Police Management and he also undertook an Advanced Security Course at Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii. In addition Mr Tudravu attained an Executive Masters in Business Administration from the Fiji National University. Mr. Tudravu also served with the Commonwealth Multinational Police Monitoring Group to the Solomon Islands - Crisis. He is from Nasautoka Village in Wainibuka, Tailevu and is the current Chairman of the Tailevu Provincial Council. The Prime Minister warmly congratulated Mr. Tudravu on his new appointment.
“Ah! Speak of the Devil, and you find Him [Qiliho] in your Hat.” It seems both Melaine Hopkins, former British High Commissioner to Fiji, and Paul Welsh, the newly arrived Deputy High Commissioner in Suva, made no effort to check on Qiliho's violent past before endorsing him for London
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24 June 2020: The outgoing British High Commissioner Melanie Hopkins (left photo) was accorded a quarter guard ceremony as she paid her last courtesy visit to the Commissioner of Police Sitiveni Qiliho at the Fiji Police Headquarters in Nasinu. Paul Welsh (right photo) proudly showing off the HAT he bought last week while touring Savusavu. Qiliho giving Hopkins the send-off to England. Last week, a month later, he arrived in London. She is yet to reply to Fijileaks on what role, if any, she played in his selection to the Royal College of Defence Studies in London
A ROYAL FAREWELL FROM SITIVENI QILIHO TO MELAINE HOPKINS
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As the British High Commission in Fiji refuses to give us any comments, and plans are afoot now to get Qiliho arrested in the United Kingdom, the former Opposition Leader Ro Teimumu Kepa's comments in 2016 remain relevant today as it was then when it was announced that Qiliho was going to Malaysian War College for a year:
Why is the Police Commissioner to study at a war college [in Malaysia] for a year? How will that improve his policing skills? Are the public to assume that his career as Police Commissioner has been cut short? His term in office is for five years, but he’s only been in the job for eight months. This entire episode, highlights yet again, Government’s unscrupulous attitude to transparency and accountability and proper procedures.
“The way the public of Fiji has been informed of this important career move for a constitutionally appointed officer of state, illustrates the dysfunctional nature of the Bainimarama Government. It is not for Brigadier-General Qiliho to reveal the details and to bypass the legal procedures and processes governing his post as Commissioner. The announcement should have come through the Constitutional Offices Commission chaired by the Prime Minister. But the Commission has not functioned properly for a long time. In fact my nominee Mr Richard Naidu resigned because of his serious concerns about the way the Commission was operating. I share those concerns.This new developments about the Police Commissioner is a perfect example of Government ineptitude. As a member of the Commission, I have not received any notification of Brigadier-General Qiliho’s career move. No meeting has been called to deal with this issue and to appoint an acting commissioner. Other major questions arise. Why is the Police Commissioner to study at a war college for a year? How will that improve his policing skills? Are the public to assume that his career as Police Commissioner has been cut short? His term in office is for five years, but he’s only been in the job for eight months. This entire episode, highlights yet again, Government’s unscrupulous attitude to transparency and accountability and proper procedures.
Ro Teimumu Kepa, November 2016
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HAVE YOU SIGNED THE PETITION?: Over 1,335 have put their signatures SIGN PETITION BELOW, led by the newly formed and United Kingdom based, The Coalition for Defence of Human Rights in Fiji. Let us unite and call for Qiliho's arrest in London, and for him to face trial under Section 134 of the United Kingdom's Criminal Justice Act. This Act allows the UK, under the principle of universal jurisdiction, to arrest and prosecute people accused of human rights abuses committed outside the UK.
https://www.change.org/p/fijians-all-over-the-world-keep-qiliho-out-of-uk
