Suspended Director of Public Prosecutions Christopher Pryde has expressed his appreciation for comments made by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. The Prime Minister stated that Mr. Pryde remains entitled to receive his salary until he is officially removed from office.
This comes fifteen months after Mr. Pryde’s suspension, during which he broke his silence by sending a five-page letter to New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, claiming that his salary had been halted by the Fiji Government.
On Friday, Mr. Rabuka announced that he would look into the issue of Mr. Pryde’s salary, affirming that Mr. Pryde is legally entitled to his full salary until his official removal.
Mr. Pryde expressed gratitude towards the Prime Minister’s comments. He mentioned that he had not received any further communication from the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) since their decision on Tuesday and hoped they would reconsider and allow him to continue defending himself at the tribunal without further interference.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rabuka confirmed that no discussions took place regarding the appointments of the Police Commissioner and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) during the Constitutional Offices Commission (COC) meeting on Friday night. He noted that no final lists had been submitted by the tribunals, and they had not reported back.
When questioned about the appointment process for the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Rabuka explained that it follows a separate procedure, with a tribunal tasked with investigating and reporting back to the commission. However, no report had been returned yet.
The article originally appeared on The Fiji Times.