Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has dismissed claims of political influence regarding the recent pardoning of George Speight, who led the 2000 coup, along with former Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit leader Shane Stevens.
This inquiry follows public calls from supporters of Rabuka’s political party during campaign meetings for the People’s Alliance in the lead-up to the 2022 General Election, with the latest discussions taking place on September 13.
Speight and Stevens were among seven individuals who received a Presidential Pardon last Thursday. Speight, convicted of treason in 2002 after pleading guilty, had his death sentence commuted to life imprisonment.
In a media address, Rabuka emphasized that the Mercy Commission operates independently, clarifying that the decision to pardon the two men was solely within the commission’s jurisdiction and followed due process.
“The People’s Alliance stated that the 2013 Constitution and its various institutions will function without interference, and the Mercy Commission is one such body that operates independently from government influence,” Rabuka noted. He reiterated that the pardoning process was entirely the domain of the Mercy Commission, independent of government or political involvement.