Former Attorney General Graham Leung “advised” the Chief Justice and Chairman of the Judicial Services Commission on the appointment of Barbara Malimali as Fiji Independent Commission against Corruption Commissioner.
This is a finding of the Commission of Inquiry report released on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Mr Leung said at a press conference the law required the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) only to consult with him – “which they did” — and that his signature on the JSC form could hardly be called a “ringing endorsement”.
“I just signed off. End of story,” he told the press conference.
The CoI report says that on September 3 last year, a day after receiving a note from the Judicial Services Commission that it would be appointing Barbara Malimali as Commissioner, Mr Leung called FICAC to find out if Ms Malimali was under any investigation.
“He received a document titled “Consultation and Briefing” on 2 September 2024, which outlined the names of the JSC Selection Panel and the Panel’s recommendation to appoint Ms Malimali. Mr Leung stated that this satisfied the formal requirement for consultation,” the CoI report quotes Mr Leung as testifying.
“On 3 September 2024, Mr Leung contacted the Acting Deputy Commissioner of FICAC, Ms Frances Puleiwai, to inquire about any complaints or investigations concerning Ms Malimali.”
“Ms Puleiwai confirmed that there was a complaint, but Mr Leung could not recall whether she stated there was an active investigation or the nature of the complaint.”
“As a result of this conversation, Mr Leung advised Chief Justice Temo to pause the appointment of Ms Malimali as a precautionary measure until further clarification could be obtained.”
“He noted that his advice was driven by prudence and a desire to avoid proceeding with the appointment while an unresolved complaint existed.”
The CoI report states later that same day on 3 September 2024, Mr Leung received an email from Dr Atu Emberson-Bain, a Commissioner at the Electoral Commission, that criticized FICAC’s actions, specifically the execution of a search warrant, which they called a raid.
“The ECF Commissioners letter, in Mr. Leung’s view, suggested that the complaint against Ms Malimali was vexatious.”
“Balancing that representation against the earlier information received from Ms Puleiwai, and the fact that the complaint was from blogger Alexandra Forwood, Mr Leung revised his position.”
“He called the CJ and rescinded his earlier advice to the CJ to pause the appointment, indicating that the letter from the ECF Commissioners influenced his shift in stance.”
