The court hearing regarding the abuse of office charge against former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum was postponed yesterday. The session was set to address the State prosecution’s response to a challenge made by the defense concerning the charge approved by former Acting Director of Public Prosecutions John Rabuku. The delay was due to all magistrates attending a conference in Suva this week.
The application has been rescheduled for next Tuesday at the Suva Magistrate’s Court, where it will be overseen by Magistrate Yogesh Prasad. The prosecution’s request to consolidate the files relating to both individuals involved will remain on hold until the case is addressed.
In a separate matter, Sayed-Khaiyum has been excused from attending the upcoming court session. Magistrate Joji Boseiwaqa approved this request during the hearing concerning Sayed-Khaiyum and former Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem’s abuse of office case. Sayed-Khaiyum faces 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 accused of receiving a corrupt benefit amounting to $55,944.03 from Sayed-Khaiyum in back-pay.
During the proceedings, defense attorney Devanesh Sharma requested that Sayed-Khaiyum be excused from the next session due to health issues. The court granted this request, meaning that only Saneem will be present at the next hearing.