Four men jailed for their roles in a violent 2016 carjacking in Lautoka have had their respective appeals dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
Aselai Waqanivalu, Emosi Baleidrokadroka, Joeli Nukunawa and Isaac James were convicted of two counts of aggravated robbery by the High Court in 2024.
Court records showed the victim and his wife operated a business at the Lautoka market. On the day of the incident, the victim drove with his wife and two children — a 10-year-old son and a one-year-old daughter — to Kashmir in his Toyota Prado to pick up his sister who had arrived from New Zealand.
Inside the vehicle were two bags containing clothes, a gold chain, more than $16,000 in cash, and two smartphones, while the victim’s wallet was in his pocket. The money from the business was to be deposited in the bank the following morning.
At around 7.20pm, the victim had stopped in front of a shop in Kashmir to buy items for his children when he was attacked.
The court jailed Waqanivalu for seven years, Baleidrokadroka was sentenced to nine years, James for eight years while Nukunawa was given six years.
Their applications for leave to appeal against both conviction and sentence were denied because they did not meet the threshold for the granting of an enlargement or extension of time.
Justice Alipate Qetaki also dismissed Nukunawa’s application for leave to appeal against conviction on October 24, given that his grounds have no prospect of success, and disallowed James’ leave to appeal as well.
