Former Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica is in Australia undergoing spinal surgery, his lawyer told a magistrate as the senior politician missed a scheduled court appearance this week.
Wylie Clarke of Howards Lawyers informed Magistrate Charles Ratakele that Kamikamica was receiving treatment on his spine and was therefore unable to attend the hearing. The matter was adjourned to May 12, giving time for the surgery and for the court to await the outcome of a related High Court application.
Kamikamica faces a charge of perjury over an alleged false statement under oath that he had no involvement in the appointment of Barbara Malimali as commissioner of the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC). In the alternative, prosecutors have charged him with giving false information to a public servant, alleging he provided the same incorrect statement to a Commission of Inquiry.
The lower court hearing been put on hold as Kamikamica and the prosecution await a ruling from Justice Siainiu Fa’alogo Bull on an application for a permanent stay of the criminal charges. A permanent stay, if granted by the High Court, would halt the prosecution and prevent the matter from proceeding further; if refused, the case will return to the magistrates’ court where the charges were originally laid.
Clarke’s notification to Magistrate Ratakele is the latest procedural development in a case that has drawn public attention because of Kamikamica’s former senior government role. The defence’s stay application in the High Court remains central to the immediate legal timetable, with both sides expecting Justice Fa’alogo Bull’s ruling to determine whether the matter continues in the lower court.
No further medical details were provided in court about the nature of Kamikamica’s spinal procedure or the expected recovery time. The May 12 adjournment sets the next formal date for the lower court to consider the matter, pending the High Court’s decision on the stay application.
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