Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has dismissed claims of political interference regarding the recent pardons of George Speight, the figure behind the 2000 coup, and Shane Stevens, a former leader of the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit (CRW). This response comes after members of his political party had publicly called for their release during campaign events for the People’s Alliance around the 2022 General Election, with the latest remarks made on September 13.
Last Thursday, both Speight and Stevens were among seven individuals who received a Presidential Pardon. Speight had been convicted of treason in 2002, for which he initially received a death sentence, later commuted to life imprisonment.
Addressing the media, Prime Minister Rabuka emphasized that the Mercy Commission operates independently and that the decision to pardon the two men was entirely within the commission’s authority and followed proper procedures. He reiterated that the People’s Alliance supports the operational autonomy granted by the 2013 Constitution, including the Mercy Commission’s prerogative, which is free from governmental or political influence.