The Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) has formally declared that it does not want constitutional immunity and is prepared to face lawful accountability for its actions.
RFMF Commander Major General Jone Kalouniwai revealed that he signed a Declaration on Constitutional Immunity on October 16, 2026, voluntarily rejecting the protections proposed under the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026.
“On the sixteenth of October 2026, I signed, on behalf of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, a Declaration on Constitutional Immunity,” he told the Parliamentary Committee considering the Bill.
“The RFMF does not seek the immunity in section 206, and we do not wish to receive it. We ask Parliament to remove Chapter 14.”
Major General Kalouniwai said the military also accepted civilian authority under section 151 without conditions and would cooperate with any lawful accountability process.
He stressed that the decision was entirely voluntary.
“No court has ordered it. No Government has demanded it. No law compels it. It is a willing sacrifice, and only a willing sacrifice carries moral weight.”
The Commander said surrendering immunity was consistent with the sacrifices expected of soldiers serving the nation.
“We ask our soldiers to be ready to lay down their lives for the people. Surely, then, the institution itself can lay down its legal cover. That is what service means.”
He acknowledged that the military had played a central role in creating what he described as Fiji’s “architecture of rebellion”, a system sustained by secrecy, fear, misplaced loyalty and constitutional immunity.
“An architecture can be torn down from outside, but it is only truly dismantled when its own builders refuse to defend it.”
Major General Kalouniwai said voluntarily surrendering immunity would send a clear message to those contemplating future unconstitutional actions.
“When the RFMF lays down its immunity, it breaks the oath-bound loyalty on which the whole structure rests. It tells every future plotter that this Force will never again protect wrongdoing.”
He also referred to the Supreme Court’s August 2025 advisory opinion, saying the court had recognised that immunity weakened the rule of law and could encourage future coups.
According to the Commander, immunity had been retained partly because it was considered necessary to secure the military’s return to civilian rule.
However, he argued that the military’s voluntary rejection of that protection removed the justification for retaining it.
“Mr Chairman, the party for whose benefit that bargain was made now freely declines it. On the Court’s own reasoning, what remains is the case against immunity.”
Major General Kalouniwai emphasised that removing immunity would not automatically establish anyone’s guilt.
“Removing immunity convicts no one. It restores the ordinary law, with all its protections.”
The RFMF is urging Parliament to remove Chapter 14 from the proposed Constitution and ensure that military personnel remain subject to the same laws and accountability processes as other citizens.
