Pages alleged to be part of the Malimali Commission of Inquiry (CoI) report, including its executive summary, have surfaced online, criticising the appointment of former Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) commissioner Barbara Malimali as legally questionable and “ethically reprehensible”.
The pages are alleged to be the executive summary of the 648-page COI report. They say that the appointment process was politically influenced, potentially aimed at protecting senior public officials and disrupting ongoing corruption investigations.
According to the leaked pages, the CoI found what it described as “a systematic failure of integrity at the highest levels of Fiji’s governance and justice systems”.
They say that Ms Malimali’s appointment as FICAC commissioner may have been legally questionable and “ethically reprehensible” and suggest procedural irregularities.
The pages further claim the appointment was “orchestrated to protect actors and senior public officials” and that it reflected “a governance culture prioritising loyalty, secrecy, and political convenience over legality, ethics, and public trust”.
The pages also allege the appointment process was rushed and involved what it terms “professional negligence, unlawful conduct, and the wilful concealment of critical facts”.
“The evidence before the COI suggests the appointment process was politically manipulated and hurried to install an individual who may have been compromised,” the document says.
Ms Malimali’s lawyer, Tanya Waqanika, said they would like to be given a copy of the COI report as an aggrieved party.
Attempts to obtain comment from Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka on the alleged executive summary were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
