The High Court has found that Barbara Malimali was unlawfully removed as Commissioner of the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC), with Justice Dane Tuiqereqere describing public comments made by the former Commission of Inquiry (COI) commissioner as “ill-advised”.
In his ruling delivered today, Justice Tuiqereqere referred to radio interviews given by former COI commissioner Justice Ashton-Lewis on 29 May and 6 June 2025, while the COI report had only recently been presented to the President and its findings were still being considered and investigated by police.
Court ruling states that during the interviews, Justice Ashton-Lewis made strong public claims, including allegations of perjury and obstruction of justice linked to the appointment of Ms Malimali.
According to the transcript cited in the judgment, Justice Ashton-Lewis said:
“Now I found that there were nine people who had done… things such as under oath… That’s called perjury. I found that nine of them obstructed the course of justice and that they had also perverted the course of justice in the appointment of this particular woman.”
He further claimed that the Prime Minister was considering acting on his recommendations, adding:
“I have received word that he’s going to act on all my recommendations in relation to nine people… I’ve let it to the public… because we received pretty good intelligence… that those who are named in it are going to seek to bring an injunction to stop it being released.”
In another excerpt highlighted by the Court, Justice Ashton-Lewis made pointed political remarks, stating:
“One of them is a wannabe Prime Minister… and he thinks he should be… well, if Sitiveni Rabuka acts, he’s never going to be Prime Minister, because I found disgraceful things that he was doing.”
Justice Tuiqereqere noted that these interviews took place at a sensitive time, when the COI’s findings and recommendations were still unfolding and under investigation.
“Needless to say, that given that the COI Report had only recently been presented to the President and the consequences of the COI findings and recommendations were still playing out in Fiji, and being investigated by the Fiji Police, the interview by the former Commissioner of the COI was ill-advised,” said the judge.
The Court also noted that on 26 June 2025, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka advised the President to release a redacted version of the COI report, which was subsequently made public on 1 July 2025.
Justice Tuiqereqere ultimately ruled that the process leading to Ms Malimali’s removal did not comply with the law, finding that her appointment as FICAC commissioner had been unlawfully revoked.
