Former parliamentarian Simione Rasova is now searching for fresh legal representation after his lawyer, Barbara Malimali, withdrew from his criminal case, a development confirmed in Suva Magistrates’ Court on March 24. Defence counsel Tomasi Tuitoga told Magistrate Joseph Daurewa that he had conferred with Malimali and asked the court for one month to allow Rasova to engage a new lawyer.
Rasova faces two counts of providing false information to a public servant and one count of obtaining a financial advantage. Prosecutors allege he falsely stated his permanent place of residence and collected $21,350 in allowances between July 2019 and April 2020 that he was not entitled to. Evidence in the matter has already been heard during earlier proceedings.
Last month the court ruled that Rasova had a case to answer — a finding that requires the defence to decide whether to proceed to trial on the evidence already heard or to elect for a trial de novo, meaning a fresh trial. Defence teams were given one month from that ruling to make that election. Rasova has filed a petition to appeal the “case to answer” determination, a step that could affect the timing and conduct of any subsequent trial if the appeal proceeds.
Tuitoga asked the court to adjourn to April 24 to permit Rasova to confirm his position once he has engaged new counsel. At that recall date, Rasova and his replacement lawyer are expected to indicate whether they will proceed on the evidence already presented, seek a trial de novo, or pursue further appeals or interlocutory steps.
The abrupt change in legal representation is the latest procedural development in a case that has already advanced beyond initial evidence hearings. How Rasova’s new lawyer chooses to proceed — and the outcome of his pending petition to appeal the case-to-answer ruling — will determine whether the matter moves toward trial or is delayed further by appellate proceedings.
Magistrate Daurewa set the next court listing for April 24, when the defence’s course of action must be clarified. Until Rasova confirms new counsel and a defence election, key elements of the prosecution timetable remain uncertain.
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