FEO Manager Legal says Deed of Variations look falsified as both had same dates but different signatories

State witness and Fijian Elections Office Manager Legal, Mesake Dawai has stated in the Suva High Court that the Deed of Variations looked like it was falsified as both had the same dates but different signatories.

While giving evidence in the abuse of office case of former Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and former Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem, Dawai said the Deed could not have been signed on the same date.

Dawai says he was instructed by Supervisor of Elections Ana Mataiciwa to investigate certain allegations that were brought up against Saneem.

He says he interviewed staff including Financial Officer, Romika Sewak who says she had kept a copy of the first Deed of Variation to cover herself in case the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service came after her regarding where the money went.

The Manager Legal says during his investigation he also found that Saneem had taken all the other copies of the first Deed of Variation from the other departments like Human Resources.

He says the Financial Controller says Saneem complained to her about all the deductions to his pay which is why the second Deed of Variation came into play.

Dawai says when he enquired with the Constitutional Offices Commission, they said there was no approval from their end for a tax reimbursement.

He also raised that it was very rare for an election official to get a raise on election year.

The Manager Legal says there had been various situations that he has witnessed Saneem allegedly favouring the former FijiFirst Party.

At this point, defence counsel Devanesh Sharma objected saying that the witness did not reveal this in his interview so how are they supposed to counter or research this, calling it an ambush.

Chief Justice Temo says the days of ambush trial or surprises are no longer encouraged like in the past, and this should all have been sorted out beforehand during disclosures adding that all this does bring down the credibility of the witness.

State Prosecutor, Nancy Tikoisuva argued that Dawai has worked with Saneem for a long time and he would know of these incidents.

When asked by Tikoisuva about one of these incidents, Dawai said one of them was when he was called into Saneem’s office in regards to the submission of the declaration of office holders where Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum had submitted their declaration which was not dated.

Dawai says that Saneem told him to date the declaration, to which he objected to, adding that the person that signed it should amend it.

Dawai said Saneem then took a pen and dated it.

When asked by Tikoisuva if there were other instances during the 2022 campaign period, Dawai said it was the placement of former FijiFirst campaign material on the Suva Civic Carpark building, but the laws specifically stated that you can only place campaign materials on places that have been approved by the Supervisor of Elections.

Dawai says the former FijiFirst Party was sent a letter to remove it as was the Suva City Council, but a letter was not sent to FICAC even though a breach had taken place.

He says even though Saneem is empowered by law to direct political candidates to remove campaign materials, it does not change the fact that Section 18 of the Electoral Act states that if the Electoral Commission or the Supervisor becomes aware of the probable commission of an election related criminal offence prescribed in this Act, it must immediately report the matter in writing to FICAC.

The trial will continue today.