The motion to appeal the conviction and pending bail of former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and former Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho was addressed in court yesterday. The pair appeared before Justice Chandana Prematilaka at the Veiuto Complex in Suva, where Bainimarama’s wife, Mary, was present to observe the proceedings.
During the session, attorney Fatima Gul for the appellants highlighted that the motions against their conviction were filed in the Fiji Courts of Appeal on April 23, with the bail application submitted on July 23. She requested the court’s permission to add further grounds to their appeal.
The appeal against the conviction centers on the assertion that the trial judge made legal errors by convicting Bainimarama and Qiliho without fulfilling the criteria outlined in Section 16 (1)(a), (b), and (c) of the Sentencing and Penalties Act 2009. Additionally, the appellants seek to have the State’s appeal to the High Court put on hold until the Supreme Court evaluates the legitimacy of John Rabuku’s role as acting Director of Public Prosecution. They argue that proceeding with the State’s appeal against the sentence would unfairly prejudice their appeal against conviction and compromise its outcome.
In terms of their bail application, the defense asserts that they have a solid likelihood of success in their appeal. They argue that the High Court did not make errors regarding the DPP’s Ground of Appeal and maintain that the Magistrate’s court sentence was valid. Furthermore, they claim that acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo should have recused himself due to previously predetermined views when addressing the Appeal against Sentence on April 3.
The appellants also contend that actions sanctioned by the former acting DPP, Mr. Rabuku, violated Section 105 (2) of the 2013 Constitution, rendering those actions invalid. The court has set a deadline of November 5 for the appellants to file their affidavits regarding the bail application, while the State must submit theirs by December 3. A new hearing date will be established during the next court session.