The tragic death of 39-year-old Fijian Sikeli Nawaqa in Perth, Australia, on Sunday has left his family in Fiji devastated. Nawaqa’s passing garnered attention from Australian media after reports revealed he was driving a vehicle that crashed into a tree.
Hailing from Nayawa in Nadroga and holding maternal ties to Naceva in Beqa, Nawaqa was traveling with three other Fijian men who suffered injuries and were subsequently airlifted to Perth Hospital that evening.
His wife, 37-year-old Sulueti Naula, expressed her heartbreak, focusing on the responsibility of raising their four children alone. “When I received the news, all I could think about were our kids,” she stated. A pastor who had been living with them in Perth visited the hospital for updates, and after two hours, Naula received a call from her husband’s employer, which she instinctively knew was bad news. Overwhelmed with grief, she recounted how they had spoken the previous Saturday and discussed plans for their 18-year-old son’s education abroad.
Nawaqa had applied for overseas work through the National Employment Centre under the Ministry of Employment two years prior and had been making progress in his career, recently serving as a supervisor at Agri Fresh Citrus Farm.
Inoke Nawaqa, Sikeli’s father, mentioned that the family is now focused on making funeral arrangements.