Sayed-Khaiyum Raises Alarm Over Secrecy and Legality Surrounding FICAC Inquiry Report

Former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has accused the coalition government of illegally suppressing the findings of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the appointment of Barbara Malimali as Commissioner of the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC), warning that the lack of transparency and disregard for legal procedures could severely undermine governance in Fiji.

In a strongly worded statement, Sayed-Khaiyum said the Fijian public had effectively been “muzzled” from knowing what the COI found and recommended.

Despite the series of high-profile suspensions, dismissals, and appointments in recent days, he said the government had failed to explain the legal basis for these decisions or release the findings of the inquiry.

“We are now seeing so many things happening (or not happening) as a result of the COI’s report but the Fijian public still do not know what the COI actually found out and recommended,” Sayed-Khaiyum said.

He alleged that Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka acted “without legal authority” in preventing the release of the report and claimed the Office of the President allowed the Prime Minister to “take over this process”—a move he argued contravenes the Commissions of Inquiry Act.

“Nowhere in the Act does the Prime Minister feature in this process,” he said. “The Commission hands over its report to the President. Not to the Prime Minister.”

Sayed-Khaiyum rejected arguments that the Prime Minister could intervene simply because the legislation falls under his office.

“The law speaks for itself,” he said. “The line minister of a law does not derive authority to interfere in the statutory provisions of that law just because the law falls under their portfolio.”

He drew comparisons to a previous COI appointed in December 2021 during the Bainimarama administration, stating that neither former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama nor himself—then Attorney-General and Minister for Economy—interfered with the inquiry into the Auditor-General’s Office.

“In fact, that Commission submitted its report directly to the President’s Office, where it still remains,” he said.

Sayed-Khaiyum also questioned the legality of recent personnel changes, including the suspension of Malimali, the removal of Deputy Commissioner Lisiate Fotofili, and the reported dismissal of Attorney-General Graham Leung.

“Under the Fijian Constitution, it is only the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), currently chaired by the Honourable Chief Justice Salesi Temo, that can advise the President to suspend or remove the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of FICAC,” he said. “No other person or organisation can.”

He called on the JSC to “assert its constitutional authority” and publicly clarify its role in the matter, especially after media reports indicated that Fotofili would return to his role as Magistrate—a judicial appointment that, Sayed-Khaiyum stressed, only the JSC can recommend to the President.

“If Fotofili were to take up the magistrate post in such a manner, then that appointment will be illegal. Just as his removal and Barbara’s suspension are,” he said.

Sayed-Khaiyum said the situation was exacerbated by the apparent absence of sound legal advice or the disregard of it by the Prime Minister, asking whether legal counsel from the Attorney-General and Solicitor-General was being politically manipulated.

He urged the President to release the full COI report—including all proceedings and findings—to the public in accordance with section 5 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act.

“If the President makes all of this information available, and the Prime Minister does not obstruct this legal process, and the JSC fulfills its constitutional role, then confidence in our governance structures and the rule of law can be restored,” he said. “To not do so will be disastrous.”

Sayed-Khaiyum warned that failing to act transparently would signal that those in power are above the law.

“It will mean that anybody in a position of political power does not have to follow due process, does not have to be transparent, and can disregard the rule of law and the Constitution. They can do as they will,” he said.