The 2022 change in Government paved the way for his release from prison, George Speight told the Constitutional Review Commission, otherwise he would still be behind bars.
Appearing before the commission on Thursday, he expressed gratitude for the political change that followed the 2022 General Election. “I’m very grateful that there was a change in Government in 2022,” he said.
Mr Speight, who was imprisoned for his role in the May 2000 coup, and released last year on a Compulsory Supervision Order after serving 24 years of prison sentence, said he believed his circumstances would have remained unchanged had there been no change in administration.
“Had it not been for a change in government, I would not be sitting here,” he told the commission.
“I’d still be in Max (Maximum Prison), reflecting on the walls and the bars, praying silently whilst the years roll by.”
Mr Speight also shared his views on several constitutional issues, including national identity, indigenous rights and the recognition of ethnic identities within Fiji’s constitutional framework.
