The Suva High Court has sentenced Anare Vuli Cilicewa to mandatory life imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years to be served before he may be considered for a pardon.
Cilicewa is convicted of one count of murdering his partner in Raiwaqa, Suva, in September 2024.
The Court found that the accused seriously assaulted the deceased using several objects before strangling her.
The accused then tied the deceased’s hands and legs, wrapped her body in a bedsheet and moved it downstairs, where it was later discovered by police beneath a bed.
In sentencing, High Court Judge Justice Pita Bulamainivalu adopted a starting point of 20-years imprisonment, and then added a further three years to account for aggravating factors.
These included the accused’s disregard for the deceased’s right to life and her opportunity to live a free and fulfilling life in accordance with her own wishes, as well as the physical and emotional abuse inflicted upon her prior to her demise.
The Judge also considered the accused’s breach of trust arising from their intimate relationship, the fear he instilled in the deceased through threats and subjugation before her death, and the trauma caused to her friends and relatives as aggravating factors.
The court described his conduct as chauvinistic and misogynistic.
From the resulting 23-year term, the Judge deducted one year to reflect mitigating factors and a further two years for the time the accused had already spent in remand bringing the minimum term to 20 years.
