On October 12, 1989, forty villagers from Suvavou took control of a cement block-making factory in Lami. They blocked all entrances to the factory and an adjacent truck depot, asserting that D Narayan Industries owed them over $1,400 in land rent. The villagers erected barricades at the gates and set up a tent outside the factory office where they gathered to drink yaqona, with guards stationed at the entrances.
Metui Mudunavosa, a spokesperson for the Tui Suva, expressed the villagers’ frustration after multiple complaints to the Native Land Trust Board (NLTB) about unpaid land rent for 1988 and 1989 went unaddressed. “We complained four times to the NLTB, but nothing was done,” Mudunavosa stated. After a meeting with board officials, who promised to issue an eviction notice to the company, the villagers felt this was insufficient and warned of their intent to shut down operations at the facility.
Mudunavosa pointed out that the land was allegedly being used illegally by D Narayan Industries. He noted that while the land was originally leased to D Narayan Brothers Limited in the 1970s, that company eventually went bankrupt. The NLTB had reportedly been aware that rental payments were not being made to the indigenous landowners, yet no action was taken.
Records indicated that the area, approximately one hectare, had been leased to D Narayan Brothers on December 21, 1970, and was subsequently mortgaged to various banks until it was transferred to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue in November 1988. The villagers also claimed that D Narayan Industries had unlawfully sub-leased part of the land to a trucking company.
According to Mudunavosa, the trucking company owner had recently visited the village to present a sevusevu and indicated he was instructed to pay $800 a month in rent, which he had paid in advance for six months. The villagers found it unjust that they were receiving only $700 annually, a payment that often went unpaid, while the trucking company paid significantly more.
The villagers maintained that the area occupied by D Narayan Industries exceeded the originally leased land, noting that the company had gradually expanded its fencing over the years. After exhausting options with the NLTB without resolution, Mudunavosa declared the villagers’ determination to remain on their ancestral land. “We are going to stay here — we will not be moved from our ancestors’ land,” stated a villager named Joe.
Mudunavosa also mentioned the villagers’ readiness to pursue legal action to reclaim their land and seek compensation for the unpaid rent, insisting that D Narayan Industries should not remain on their land. When a reporter from The Fiji Times visited the site, the villagers were in discussions with Mr. Narayan and his attorney.