Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has revealed deeply personal accounts of how the 1987 coup affected his family, describing years of guilt, social exclusion and emotional hardship.
Speaking before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Rabuka said the consequences of his actions extended far beyond politics and into the lives of those closest to him.
Rabuka said he often carried a sense of underlying guilt, particularly over how his two daughters were raised.
“My two daughters were brought up by their mother,” he said.
“One morning, one of the first officers in charge of a group went to their home and found that their mother had moved—she had brought them up to heaven. They had to call their mother after that to say, ‘We are now dead.’ They were friends in Class Five.”
He recalled how his wife, who was a teacher, faced difficulties because of his role in national events.
“She had a difficult time with leaders. Master Ritesh was a very strict person—everything by the book. She struggled as a leader and was called because of what I had done,” he said.
Rabuka said other family members, including his sisters who were also teachers, lost friends at work and in their communities as people distanced themselves.
He shared one experience relayed by his daughter:
“One of my daughters told me a friend of hers refused to play in the other team when they played against us.”
Rabuka said these experiences helped him understand the emotional and social costs borne by people affected by political upheaval.
“Yesterday, I could feel very intimately at home what others were feeling—probably worse in other communities,” he said.
He admitted that he was excluded from many opportunities because people feared he might misuse authority again.
“Many things I could have been involved in, people were reluctant to work with me or put me in positions of authority, knowing I might abuse that position again,” Rabuka said.
The Prime Minister told the Commission that the events of 1987 left a lasting mark on his personal life, shaping his understanding of reconciliation and the need to heal long-standing national wounds.
