The legal representatives for former Prime Minister Josaia Bainimarama and former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum have submitted a notice of motion requesting orders and declarations concerning the charges against them. Both individuals are facing a single count of abuse of office and appeared in the Suva Magistrate’s Court yesterday before Magistrate Sufia Hamza.
Former Minister for Health Neil Sharma is also involved in this case, although his attendance was questioned during the previous hearing.
In the motion, the defense team, acting as the applicants, is seeking the following:
– A declaration that the rights of Bainimarama and Sayed-Khaiyum were violated.
– A declaration and order to deem counts 5, 6, and 7 invalid, as they were authorized by a former Acting Director of Public Prosecutions whose appointment was illegal.
– An order stating that Bainimarama and Sayed-Khaiyum were not employees of the public or civil service.
– An order declaring that count 7 was improperly filed against Sayed-Khaiyum and is outdated.
– A motion to strike out the charges against them.
Additionally, they are requesting court costs.
During the court proceedings, State Prosecutor Nancy Tikoisuva noted that Section 290 of the Criminal Procedure Act permits the court to address the matter but asserted that the issues raised pertained to constitutional matters. Defense attorney Devanesh Sharma argued that under Section 100, subsection 7 of the 2013 Constitution, the Magistrate Court is competent to handle this case. However, Magistrate Hamza pointed out that neither party had presented their concerns in writing.
The court has ordered both parties to submit their written documents by January 8, with a hearing scheduled for January 23, 2025.
In a separate matter concerning Sharma, Tikoisuva informed the court that the State had already provided all pertinent documents. She indicated that the remaining requested documents would be delivered to Sharma’s legal team by the end of the week. Sharma’s lawyer, Krisheel Cheng, noted that they had been seeking this information since September 9.
The requested list includes:
– The State’s list of witnesses,
– Details on disclosures, specifically whether the DPP or Police have submitted additional evidence,
– The FICAC file related to the case.
Tikoisuva stated that they would only disclose their witnesses after a hearing date is established. Before the session concluded, Sharma requested that all individuals cited in affidavits be available for cross-examination in the next session. All defendants are required to attend the upcoming hearing.