Veronica and Manoa Malani were served yesterday with an application for an order of committal in the High Court after they made comments against the judiciary and members of the judiciary on September 10, 2021 in a live video posted on Facebook.
This after Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum filed contempt of court proceedings against the couple in the High Court.
The application by Mr Sayed-Khaiyum alleges that the couple’s statements are contemptuous in that:
- they have been deliberately made with the intention to scandalise the Court and the judiciary in Fiji; and
- are a scurrilous attack on members of the judiciary thereby lowering or undermining or posing a real risk of lowering or undermining the reputation of the judiciary, the public confidence in the judiciary and administration of justice in Fiji.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said that “the statements made by the Malanis are an attack on the judiciary in Fiji. We must not condone any attempts to undermine the Fijian public’s confidence in the administration of justice. This also has the potential to damage the integrity of the enforcement of justice and if let alone, can fester and have serious ramifications in future.”
The live video is publicly accessible and as of September 23, 2021, has been viewed 70,000 times, shared 3100 times, and has received 1700 comments and 3300 reactions.
The video was also shortened and shared by another publicly accessible Facebook page and has since been viewed 200,000 times, shared 2200 times, and has received 1700 comments and 6600 reactions.
