As Manoa Kamikamica takes up the Deputy Prime Minister's position again from today, the Magistrates Court ruling clearly shows that there was insufficient evidence adduced to prove the elements of the charges against Kamikamica during FICAC's case.
Magistrate Charles Ratakele said FICAC witness and the counsel assisting the Commission of Inquiry, Janet Mason had conceded that she never directly asked Kamikamica if he had prior knowledge of Barbara Malimali's appointment as FICAC Commissioner.
The Magistrate said this further fortifies the position that the line of questioning or at least the issue of any prior knowledge by Kamikamica on the appointment of Malimali was not material to the COI proceedings.
He added that taking a step back and considering the evidence adduced by Mason, and the limited evidence adduced by Government MP, Kalaveti Ravu, and considering the agreed facts and documents, the Court finds that there is no evidence that Kamikamica made a material statement in relation to those proceedings.
The Magistrate said FICAC relied on Ravu's diary especially on the entry of August 5th, 2024, that Kamikamica allegedly had prior knowledge of the appointment of the FICAC Commissioner one month before the announcement.
However, Magistrate Ratakele said the Court has to be very clear as to how this diary can be used.
He said the Rule Against Hearsay allows only certain limited exceptions.
In this case, these diary entries were admitted under a hearsay exception only to prove the fact that the words were written, but, it cannot be used to prove the truthfulness of the statements contained within them.
The Magistrate said FICAC has not adduced evidence that the statement made by Kamikamica under oath in the COI proceedings was false or that he knew the statement was not true.
For the charge of giving false information, Magistrate Ratakele also stated that no evidence was adduced to prove this element during FICAC's case.
The Magistrate said Mason conceded that the issue of Kamikamica's prior knowledge fell outside the Commission of Inquiry's terms of reference and was not investigated.
Furthermore, Ravu provided no evidence to corroborate that the information provided by Kamikamica to the Commission was false.
fijivillage News has approached FICAC for comments.
We have also asked whether they have returned Kamikamica's mobile phone seized in July last year.
They are yet to comment.
