Valenitabua: Radrodro did not give false information

THE High Court in Suva yesterday heard that Opposition MP Salote Radrodro did not give false information to former acting secretary-general to Parliament Viniana Namosimalua until the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court (ACDHC) defined permanent residence in the Niko Nawaikula case.

Suva lawyer Simione Valenitabua said this in court when Ms Radrodro’s motion for constitutional redress was called yesterday before High Court judge Justice Thushara Rajasinghe.

Ms Radrodro is taking the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC), the Parliament of Fiji and the Attorney-General to court, and seeking declarations that her right to appeal to a higher court had or would likely be contravened if the ACDHC went ahead with her trial while there were pending appeals in the Court of Appeal which she was a party to or would affect the outcome of her case were still to be decided.

Mr Valenitabua said affairs of Parliament were best dealt with by Parliament, and even if Ms Radrodro gave false information to Ms Namosimalua, the matter should have been referred to the Parliamentary Remuneration Committee (PRC) for clarification and advice.

“If the PRC believed she erred by giving the Ms Namosimalua false information about her permanent address, then the matter would be referred to the Privileges Committee (PC) for investigation, findings and recommendations to Parliament,” he said.

“The findings and recommendations report by the PC on the applicant’s act would then be tabled in Parliament, for example, PM Bainimarama’s assault of MP Pio Tikoduadua.”

He said the effect of the ACDHC judgment in Nawaikula’s case defined “permanent residence” and “permanent address”, criminalised an act that was not an offence in 2019 when Ms Radrodro lodged the MPDF.

And retrospectively applying such findings to the MPDF lodged to Ms Namosimalua on June 13, 2019, bolstered her claim that her constitutional right under section 14(1)(a) not to be tried for an act that was not an offence under Fijian laws at all material times was contravened.

Mr Valenitabua said the MPDF was internal within Parliament and the intent of Parliament in devising the MPDF was administrative convenience within Parliament, not to aid in FICAC’s prosecution and imperatively, the contravention or likely contravention of Ms Radrodro’s constitutional freedom of movement and residence.

The matter will be called for hearing on Friday, June 17.