The court proceedings concerning the abuse of office charge against former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum were postponed yesterday. The session was intended to address the State prosecution’s response to the defense’s challenge regarding the charge, which was approved by former Acting Director of Public Prosecutions John Rabuku. However, the hearing was delayed because all magistrates were attending a conference in Suva this week.
The case has been rescheduled for next Tuesday at the Suva Magistrate’s Court, where it will be overseen by Magistrate Yogesh Prasad. In the meantime, the prosecution’s request to consolidate the files for both individuals involved will be deferred.
Additionally, during the proceedings, it was noted that Sayed-Khaiyum would not be present at the next court appearance. Magistrate Joji Boseiwaqa agreed to this request while considering the case involving Sayed-Khaiyum and former Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem, who is also facing abuse of office charges. Sayed-Khaiyum is accused of signing a Deed of Variation and Addendum between the Government of Fiji and Saneem. As a result of this transaction, Saneem faces allegations of receiving a corrupt benefit of $55,944.03 related to his back-pay from Sayed-Khaiyum.
During the hearing, defense attorney Devanesh Sharma sought permission for his client’s absence due to health concerns, which the court granted. Consequently, only Saneem is expected to attend the next court session.