Rakuita Vakalalabure
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ratu Rakuita Saurara Vakalalabure (born 1962) is a Fijian lawyer and politician. As a candidate of the Conservative Alliance (CAMV), he was elected to the House of Representatives, winning the Cakaudrove West Fijian Communal Constituency in the parliamentary election of 2001, following in his footsteps of his father, Ratu Tevita Vakalalabure, who was Vunivalu (Paramount Chief) of Natewa, in Cakaudrove Province, and who served in both houses of Parliament during the 1990s. He was subsequently appointed Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, but on 5 August 2004, he was sentenced to six years' imprisonment for his role in the Fiji coup of 2000.
Contents |
[edit] Education and early career
Vakalalabure graduated from the University of the South Pacific with a Science degree in 1983, and went on to complete a Law degree at Bonds University in Queensland, Australia. He later received his masters degree in Law from England. After returning to Fiji, he served as a state prosecutor for four years under the then-Director of Public Prosecutions, Nazhat Shameem. In an ironic twist, he was later to be convicted and sentenced for coup-related offences by Shameem, now a judge.
Vakalalabure was also an officer in the Fijian army. He was dismissed by Military commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama for insubordination, for refusing to leave the parliamentary complex and return to barracks while the 2000 coup was in progress.
[edit] Treason conviction
Vakalalabure, who was the General Manager of the Native Land Trust Board at the time of the insurrection, was found guilty of illegally accepting and taking an oath of office for a ministerial position in the rebel government proposed by George Speight, the chief instigator of the coup. An investigation had uncovered incriminating documents in a briefcase belonging to Vakalalabure, and he was filmed being sworn in as Minister for Justice in an emotional ceremony. He was jailed in Korovou prison, alongside former Vice-President Ratu Jope Seniloli, Peceli Rinakama, Viliame Volavola, and Viliame Savu.
He was allowed out of prison on 17 May 2005 to attend the funeral of his father, who had died on 6 May.
On May 25 2005, the High Court upheld an earlier decision of the Parliamentary Speaker, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, to expel Vakalalabure from Parliament for nonattendance. Vakalalabure sued, claiming that Nailatikau's refusal to grant him leave of absence from the House for more than two sessions breached British parliamentary rules, on which Fiji's are based. Justice Filimoni Jitoko, however, struck out Vakalalabure's claim, ruling that Nailatikau's actions were constitutional and followed precedent.
Ratu Rakuita Vakalalabure was also deregistered by the Fiji Law Society and disbarred from practicing for life. This decision has been appealed to the Court of Appeal.
[edit] Sentence appealed and reduced
Lautoka lawyer Iqbal Khan announced on 30 August 2005 that he had filed an application on behalf of Vakalalabure and of Ratu Inoke Takiveikata, who was also convicted of coup-related offenses, to have their convictions quashed. Khan claimed that the two had been denied a fair trial according to Section 29 of the Constitution of Fiji, as the trial assessors had been handpicked and therefore possibly biased.
At a court appearance on 17 October 2005, Vakalalabure argued that his conviction was invalid, as the treason charge is subject to a two-year statute of limitations which had expired by the time of his being charged. On this basis, he claimed, he was entitled to a retrial.
On 15 June 2006, Chief Justice Daniel Fatiaki, acting for the Supreme Court, reduced Vakalalabure's prison sentence from six years to four, arguing that others convicted with him had received lesser sentences. He is now due to be released on 6 April 2008.
[edit] Expulsion from Parliament
Following the High Court's decision, President Ratu Josefa Iloilo declared Rakuita's parliamentary seat vacant on 8 June 2005 and issued a writ for a byelection, which was expected to cost F$450,000. His older brother, Ratu Osea Vakalalabure announced his candidacy, though as a candidate for the United Fiji Party of Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, rather than the CAMV to which Ratu Rakuita belongs, but withdrew on 22 June in favour of the CAMV candidate, Niko Nawaikula, who was declared elected unopposed, thus averting the byelection.
