FORMER Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama will need to apply for an ordinary Fiji passport or an emergency passport as part of his application for a visa to visit his wife Mary Bainimarama who will be airlifted to New Zealand today.
Mr Bainimarama is seeking the approval of the court to allow him to travel to New Zealand to be by his wife’s side while she receives treatment for a serious spinal infection.
Appearing before Justice Daniel Goundar in Sigatoka yesterday, State lawyer Laisani Tabuakuro revealed Mr Bainimarama still held a diplomatic passport.
Ms Tabuakuro said Mr Bainimarama had surrendered his passport in a previous case when the court implemented a Stop Departure Order (SDO).
The passport has since been with authorities while he served a prison sentence and faces two other court cases.
Ms Tabuakuro said upon inspection of the passport’s biodata, it was confirmed that Mr Bainimarama still held a diplomatic passport which, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had expired when he gave up his position as Leader of the Opposition in 2023. Ms Tabuakuro also confirmed that Mr Bainimarama currently did not hold a blue passport which he would need to apply for.
The State lawyer said there were issues that needed to be addressed by Mr Bainimarama such as the provision of sureties and financial records that could assure the court he would return to Fiji for his ongoing legal proceedings.
She said while the State acknowledged that Mrs Bainimarama needed urgent medical attention, there was no evidence that her spouse needed to be present in New Zealand during the treatment.
Justice Goundar also questioned whether Mr Bainimarama’s criminal conviction that resulted in a prison term of 12 months suspended for three years could be a factor in his visa application to the New Zealand Embassy.
Defence counsel Devanesh Sharma said this was the first time Mr Bainimarama had applied to travel overseas and that he had no reason to breach any of his bail conditions.
He asked the court to consider the humanitarian aspect of the application and that his presence would provide significant support for his wife’s medical treatment and recovery.
Justice Daniel will deliver his ruling this Friday.
