State wins landmark case

The drawn out dispute over the ownership of all land in Suva City and its suburbs concluded yesterday with a land marking ruling in favor of the State.

Lautoka High Court Judge Justice Sosefo Inoke delivered the almost 100 page ruling yesterday in a case where the Tui Suva Ratu Epeli Kanakana and others had sued the government for compensation saying that their lands were taken and held unlawfully by the British Crown and that their ancestral chiefs had no right to sell such lands.

The Tui Suva was also seeking orders for the court to declare that acquisition, sale and transfer of all land in Suva as null and void.

The actual reliefs claimed against the State included payment of substantial monetary compensation including for freehold title, as well as injunctions requiring the State to transfer all State leases in the Suva peninsula for the benefit of the Plaintiffs.

However after considering the evidence provided in the case, dating back some 136 years, Judge Inoke dismissed the Suvavou native title claim against the State.

Justice Inoke also stated that the final result is that the Native title to all of the Suva peninsula land have been extinguished and all the plaintiffs claims must therefore fail.

Attorney General and Minister for Justice Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum said the State is glad that the matter has been laid to rest.