Acting DPP Nancy Tikoisuva has confirmed to the Suva High Court that following comments made by Assistant DPP Laisani Tabuakuro on a LinkedIn post by former Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem, which is the subject of a defamation case, Tabuakuro was placed on probation, counselled and given guidance on media ethics.
This comes as Saneem has filed the case against Tabuakuro after he shared a Fiji Government post where the then Attorney General Graham Leung had called on the then Acting DPP John Rabuku to step down as the Supreme Court gave its opinion that Rabuku is not eligible for judicial appointment because he was previously found guilty of professional misconduct in a disciplinary case.
Saneem claimed the appointments and terminations were unlawful and accused the State of abusing its office and failing to act as a model litigant.
In response, Tabuakuro accused Saneem of spreading lies, called him an unethical lawyer, and said the Supreme Court had not ruled on the issue and that there were no problems with his criminal charges.
While responding to questions from Tabuakuro's counsel, Eroni Naduva, Tikoisuva says that according to the ODPP HR Manual, their officers have the right to express themselves, but they must ensure it does not bring the ODPP into disrepute.
She also says that Saneem's post was also part of the court proceedings in which he and former Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum were charged with corruption-related offences and acquitted last week by Chief Justice Salesi Temo.
When questioned on whether the post warranted any action from her, Tikoisuva says Tabuakuro's comments were calling for Saneem not to lie about the Supreme Court's opinion in relation to the then Acting DPP John Rabuku and Court of Appeal Judge Justice Alipate Qetaki's eligibility to hold judicial office.
She says the comments were no different from what they were arguing in court.
The Acting DPP also says that following Tabuakuro's termination by DPP Christopher Pryde, who is in New Zealand, she took the matter to the Labour Office and the Employment Tribunal.
She says she had to assess the grounds for the dismissal and also consider risk mitigation, as the High Court had also ruled in favour of former Solicitor-General Sharvada Sharma following his dismissal.
Tikoisuva says they found that both the ODPP and Pryde had breached their own policies and, following discussions, allowed Tabuakuro to withdraw her complaint before reinstating her to her position.
She also revealed that correspondence between her and Pryde had been posted on the blogsite Grubsheet and that she has raised the matter with the Judicial Services Commission.
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions John Rabuku has told the Suva High Court when he informed by the JSC of his appointment as the Acting DPP, he had raised with them the Independent Legal Services Commission judgement against him about 12 or 13 years ago and had asked if it would affect their decision.
He says the JSC had said that it would not affect his acting appointment.
Rabuku says following the Supreme Court's ruling disqualifying him from being appointed to a judicial position, he left the position about 10 days later.
The Deputy DPP says the opinion was given to the Cabinet but he was appointed by the JSC and was waiting for their decision.
Rabuku says he was told by the JSC to lay low as they were in a conference.
He says he wrote a lengthy letter to the JSC, giving his views and also proposed that he remain the Acting DPP until they appoint another, however, this made the JSC uncomfortable.
Rabuku also confirmed that Saneem had also made an intervener application to be part of the Supreme Court proceedings, however it was dismissed.
He says his understanding of the intervener ruling was that the validity of the decisions he made as Acting DPP was not part of the question being asked of the Supreme Court.
He further says Tabuakuro had brought Saneem's LinkedIn post to his attention and he had laughed at it because it was petty play and did not matter in the grand scheme of things and he is a more senior lawyer.
He says the public post did not affect him personally.
When questioned about Tabuakuro's response, Rabuku says the response is valid as it corrects the post by Saneem.
Before cross-examining Rabuku, Saneem's counsel Devanesh Sharma had warned him that he would be attacking his character.
While responding to questions by Sharma, he demanded that Sharma withdraw his statement when he had said that Rabuku had a premeditated mindset against the previous government, had appointed Tabuakuro and weaponized the ODPP.
In a heated back and forth, Rabuku also said that Sharma has also benefitted from representing members of the former government.
In response to Sharma's question on whether he held some very strong views against the previous government, Rabuku said he disagreed with some of the decisions, did have strong views and left the country for five years.
He had also asked Rabuku about his social media posts about Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, to which Rabuku had responded that it was in his personal capacity and before he was appointed.
He also agreed with Sharma that like him, Saneem can have opinions and it is his prerogative.
The High Court will deliver its ruling on notice.
