Republic of Fiji Military Forces Commander Major General Jone Kalouniwai says the military is prepared to surrender the immunity that has protected it, as Fiji confronts nearly four decades of coups, broken trust and constitutional injustice.
In a powerful submission to the Parliamentary Committee considering the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026, Major General Kalouniwai compared Fiji’s constitutional journey to the biblical crossing of the River Jordan by the children of Israel.
“Fiji, too, has wandered for almost forty years. Since 1987, we have travelled through a wilderness of coups, of broken trust, and of laws that placed some people beyond the reach of justice,” he said.
“Today we stand at our own Jordan.”
Drawing on the biblical account of Joshua and the twelve tribes of Israel, the Commander said every section of Fijian society had a responsibility to contribute towards rebuilding the nation.
“The Government, this Parliament, our chiefs, our churches and our people each have a stone to carry. The RFMF comes before you today to lay down ours.”
He then delivered a significant declaration on the military’s position regarding constitutional immunity.
“Our stone is the immunity that has protected us, and we place it in the middle of the river, so that our children may one day ask what it means, and be told that this was the moment Fiji crossed over and renewed its covenant with justice.”
Major General Kalouniwai questioned whether Fiji’s proposed supreme law would finally establish equality before the law, regardless of political or military power.
“Will our supreme law, at last, place every person beneath it, the powerful and the powerless, the politician and the soldier, alike?”
The Commander warned that section 207 of the proposed Bill could permanently entrench immunity beyond the reach of the courts.
“Once this Bill passes its third reading, section 207 would make its immunity permanent and place it beyond the reach of the courts, for generations not yet born.”
He called for Chapter 14 to be replaced with a Truth, Accountability and Reconciliation Commission, under which protection would depend on full disclosure and would not extend to the gravest crimes.
The RFMF also recommended stronger constitutional safeguards against unlawful military orders, parliamentary oversight of internal deployments and a two-thirds parliamentary majority before any extension of Parliament’s term.
Major General Kalouniwai stressed that the military was not taking sides in the political debate surrounding the Bill or the proposed referendum.
“The RFMF takes no position on the referendum, and none on any political party. Those decisions belong to the Government, to this Parliament and to the people of Fiji.”
He said the military’s submission was guided by the principle that no individual or institution should stand above the law.
“We ask nothing for ourselves, Mr Chairman. We ask only that the law stand above every person, including us.”
The Commander urged lawmakers to seize the opportunity to establish a constitutional order based on justice rather than immunity.
“If we fail to choose rightly now, our grandchildren will inherit the same mark of impunity we inherited, and the cycle will turn again.”
