Supreme Court Judge and Commissioner of the FICAC Appointment Inquiry, Justice David Ashton-Lewis, has issued a scathing statement calling for the immediate removal of Acting Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Nancy Tikoisuva and Deputy DPP John Rabuku.
In a statement he has cited “conflicts of interest” and “a disregard for professional standards.”
Justice Ashton-Lewis said Recommendation 81(g) of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) report had clearly flagged the pair.
“This is most concerning,” he said.
“Because they are ultimately responsible for decisions about whether those implicated in the COI Report will actually be prosecuted.”
The COI chair said only one of the cases it recommended for investigation, concerning Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica, is currently being pursued by FICAC.
He added all other cases are reportedly being processed by the Fiji Police and sent to the Office of the DPP, which remains under the control of Nancy Tikoisuva and John Rabuku.
“This is unacceptable,” said Ashton-Lewis.
“It breaches the most fundamental principle of the rule of law, which is the independence of the offices of state in the criminal justice system.”
“Under no circumstances must they have carriage of the investigations coming to them from the police,” Ashton-Lewis added.
He called on the Judicial Services Commission to act swiftly and remove both officials before what he described as “a grave violation of the law” occurs.