HAS Justice David Ashton-Lewis, the Commissioner of Inquiry (COI) into the appointment of the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) Commissioner Barbara Malimali, breached the terms of his appointment?
This was the question raised by lawyers and Government members after the widespread circulation yesterday of a recording of an interview given by Justice Ashton-Lewis with Radio 4CRB, an Australian community radio station, 12 days ago.
Under the terms of appointment issued by the then President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere on 29 October 2024, the Commissioner is prohibited from disclosing the contents of his report unless directed by the President.
The directions to the Commissioner are that he “shall not at any time, publicly or otherwise disclose, save to the President of the Republic of Fiji or by the President of the Republic of Fiji’s direction, the content of any report made or to be made, or any evidence or information obtained by the Commissioner in the exercise of his powers, except such evidence or information as is received in the course of a sitting open to the public”.
Justice Ashton-Lewis made his comments on 29 May while being interviewed on “The Judge”, a program by Radio 4CRB, a non-profit community broadcasting station operated by the Gold Coast Christian and Community Broadcasting Association in Queensland, Australia.
In the interview, Justice Ashton-Lewis said he had found that nine people had “obstructed the course of justice and that they also perverted the course of justice” in the appointment of Ms Malimali.
“It became apparent in the investigation that this particular woman was shunted very quickly through the processes to get in,” he told his interviewer.
“Now the question then arises, why … was she so important? Well, the rest of the evidence showed she was so important because she would do evil people’s designs.”
The audio recording of the interview available on Radio 4CRB’s website has since been edited to exclude parts of the interview referencing the COI findings.
Concerns have been raised over the breach, with legal experts and government members saying it could compromise the integrity of the inquiry process and undermine public confidence in the handling of sensitive corruption matters.
Justice Ashton-Lewis was appointed as Commissioner of Inquiry, with New Zealand lawyer Janet Mason as counsel assisting, to independently investigate the legality and integrity of Ms Malimali’s appointment and determine whether any undue influence had tainted the process.
The final report of the COI findings was submitted to the President and Prime Minister on 14 May. Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has declined to say when the COI report would be made public or in what form.
