The court proceedings related to an 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 that was authorized by former Acting Director of Public Prosecutions, John Rabuku.
The postponement occurred because all magistrates were participating in a conference in Suva this week. The matter has been rescheduled to next Tuesday at the Suva Magistrate’s Court, where Magistrate Yogesh Prasad will preside. Until the hearing takes place, the prosecution’s request to consolidate the files for both individuals will remain temporarily suspended.
Additionally, Sayed-Khaiyum will be excused from the next court appearance. Magistrate Joji Boseiwaqa granted this request during the hearing of the case, which also involves Mohammed Saneem, the former Supervisor of Elections. Sayed-Khaiyum faces one charge of abuse of office for allegedly signing a Deed of Variation and Addendum between the Fiji government and Saneem. Subsequently, Saneem was accused of receiving a corrupt benefit amounting to $55,944.03 regarding his back-pay from Sayed-Khaiyum.
During the court session, defense attorney Devanesh Sharma requested that Sayed-Khaiyum be excused from attending due to health concerns, and the court approved the request. As a result, only Saneem is expected to appear at the upcoming court sitting.