Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources Filimoni Vosarogo has accused Unity Fiji leader Savenaca Narube of spreading a false and irresponsible narrative about Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s response to the Constitutional Review Commission report.
Vosarogo said he was concerned by Narube’s suggestion that the Prime Minister had deliberately used the CRC report to create fear and uncertainty around race and religion for political gain.
He said the allegation was not supported by evidence and misrepresented the Prime Minister’s message to the nation.
“Contrary to Narube’s false narrative, the Prime Minister did not spread hate. He did not spread fear. He did not threaten any community,” Vosarogo said.
“He did precisely the opposite.”
Vosarogo said Rabuka’s opening appeal for Fijians to remain calm was made in response to racial and religious rhetoric already circulating online.
He said Narube’s comments were particularly irresponsible given the sensitivity of race and religion in Fiji.
“The irony should not be lost on anyone. The Prime Minister specifically appealed to political leaders to be responsible with their words and not turn this national discussion into a political, racial or religious battle,” he said.
Vosarogo said Narube’s response had instead risked doing exactly what the Prime Minister had warned against.
Narube had said there was “no need to fracture this beautiful country again”, a comment Vosarogo said was advice the Unity Fiji leader should also follow.
“Through this kind of false and irresponsible nonsense, he himself appears to be attempting to fracture our nation,” Vosarogo said.
He urged Fijians to read Rabuka’s statement for themselves and form their own conclusions about what the Prime Minister had said.
Vosarogo said political leaders could disagree, criticise and debate different visions for Fiji, but there should be a limit when race and religion were brought into political attacks based on claims he described as untrue.
“Fiji deserves a political discourse that is robust, but responsible,” he said.
“Those who seek to lead this country have a duty to contribute to that standard, not undermine it.”
Vosarogo’s statement comes amid heightened public discussion following the release of the CRC’s review of the 2013 Constitution and its proposed Draft Constitution of the Republic of Fiji 2026.
