Former Fiji leader Bainimarama charged with abuse of office - prosecutor
Prosecutors charged former Fijian prime minister Frank Bainimarama with abuse of office Thursday, months after an election removed him from power. State prosecutors laid charges against both Bainimarama and Sitiveni Qiliho, a key ally who is currently suspended from his role as police commissioner.
- Asia
- Reuters
- Published Date: 10:40 | 09 March 2023
- Modified Date: 10:40 | 09 March 2023
Fiji's former prime minister Frank Bainimarama, who led the Pacific island nation for 16 years until narrowly losing an election in December, has been charged with abuse of office, the government prosecutor said.
Fiji's Director of Public Prosecutions, Christopher Pryde, has sanctioned charges of abuse of office against Bainimarama and suspended police commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho, a statement from the public prosecutor said.
The charges relate to a complaint by the University of South Pacific in 2019 that the pair had terminated "an active police investigation" into the activities of former staff members of the university.
Bainimarama, who could not be immediately reached by Reuters for comment, resigned from parliament on Wednesday.
Bainimarama was suspended from Fiji's parliament last month for sedition and insulting the president.
In a Facebook post announcing his resignation on Wednesday, Bainimarama said it was "unjustified" he had been suspended for three years, and accused the coalition government of breaching the nation's constitution.
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