Former Fijian PM Bainimarama sentenced to one-year jail term while former Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho receives two-year sentence

Former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and former Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho both have been convicted by the Suva High Court.

Acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo of the Suva High Court sentenced the former Prime Minister to a one-year jail term while the former Police Commissioner will serve two years.

Mr. Bainimarama was convicted of one count of attempt to pervert the course of justice in the University of the South Pacific(USP) case while Qiliho was found guilty of one count of abuse of office.

Both parties were alleged to have interfered with a police case on an investigation into the University of the South Pacific matter in 2021.

The former Prime Minister in his capacity as Prime Minister had directed the suspended Police Commissioner to stop an investigation into a police complaint on a University of the South Pacific matter.

The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a premier tertiary institution in the Pacific.

Apart from its primary role and responsibility as a tertiary institution, USP is known for fostering regional cooperation across the Pacific. The University is governed by twelve (12) Member Countries: Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Mr. Temo says, there was a breach of public trust from both parties as during that time Mr. Bainimarama had taken an oath in office as the Prime Minister to serve his people, and Mr. Qiliho being the Police Commissioner had the responsibility of leading the police force in upholding the law and protecting its citizens.

After the result of the findings, the High Court found both respondents, guilty as charged and convicted them accordingly on 14 March 2024. This was after the High Court quashed their acquittals in the Suva Magistrate Court on 12 October 2023.

Both prison sentences start immediately.

FBC News reported that Mr. Bainimarama and Mr. Qiliho were escorted out of the Suva High Court in handcuffs and taken to prison after spending some time with family members in the back courtroom.

Both parties have 30 days to appeal to the court of appeal.