The family of the late Jone Vakarisi is calling for justice to be served following his death while he was in military custody.
Speaking to this newspaper, 34-year-old Queenie Osbourne, the mother of Mr Vakarisi’s children, said she last saw him on Thursday afternoon at about 5pm when he visited their children.
“He just came to say that he’s going to pick the kids after and they’ll go to Waimanu, Suva, where he stays,” Ms Osbourne said.
She alleged that later that night, Mr Vakarisi and four others were forcibly taken from Mead Rd by military officers.
“We were told the military came and told them to get in the car, so they got in, but not willingly,” she said.
Ms Osbourne also disputed claims that Mr Vakarisi had suffered from any prior medical condition.
“They stated that he also had a severe medical complication, but to my knowledge he doesn’t have any medical issue. He’s not a sickly person at all.”
She described Mr Vakarisi as a devoted father, and said his death came as a shock to the family. According to Ms Osbourne, the family became aware of his death on Friday morning after seeing messages circulating on social media.
“So Friday morning, the night after he was taken, we started seeing messages and posts that he was dead and he died in the camp,” she said.
She said family members went to a military camp to seek confirmation but were asked to wait outside as senior officers were attending the funeral of the late former president Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, on Bau Island.
Ms Osbourne said the family later received information prompting them to check at the morgue, where Mr Vakarisi’s body was found. Mr Vakarisi was 36 years old.
“No one informed us of his death from the night he died,” Ms Osbourne added. “We found out when he was in the morgue. We need justice because no one deserves their life to be taken.”
