The court hearing regarding the abuse of office charge against former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has been postponed. The session was intended for the State prosecution to address the defence’s challenge against the charge, which was authorized by former Acting Director of Public Prosecutions John Rabuku. However, the adjournment was necessary as all magistrates are 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. The prosecution’s application to consolidate the files for both defendants will be temporarily paused until the matter is heard.
In a separate development, Sayed-Khaiyum will not be present at the upcoming court session. Magistrate Joji Boseiwaqa approved this request during the hearing of Sayed-Khaiyum and former Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem’s abuse of office case. Sayed-Khaiyum is facing one count of abuse of office for allegedly signing a Deed of Variation and Addendum between the Government of Fiji and Saneem. Following this transaction, Saneem was charged with receiving a corrupt benefit amounting to $55,944.03 in back-pay from Sayed-Khaiyum.
During the proceedings, defense attorney Devanesh Sharma requested that Sayed-Khaiyum be excused due to health concerns, and the court granted this request. Consequently, Saneem will be the only individual appearing at the next court session.