Obituary — Seniloli Tabuatausole Rakai 1964 — 2019
THE late Seniloli Tabuatausole Rakai, 55, was a gentle giant and humble man.
These were the sentiments shared by his eldest daughter Taina Vukicake while speaking at his funeral service held at the Seventh-day Adventist church in Lami recently.
She said she referred to her father as “Nau”.
“For the past four weeks it has been really hard for us , we waited and we prayed anticipating his arrival back home,” she said.
“We’ve cried for the past four weeks and today we also want to celebrate the life of our dad.” United Nations resident co-ordinator Sanaka Samarasinha said Mr Tabuatausole served in the Royal Fiji Military Forces for 21 years and served under the United Nations for 12 years.
“He was a leading United Nations protection close protection officer for the UN mission in Libya known as the UN Support mission,” he said.He was well-known for his hard work and dedication serving the UN with commitment and professionalism mainly operating in the Middle East and North Africa.”
His son Imanueli Rakai said their last conversation was one of the many conversations he would remember for a long time.
“We were like friends more than just a son and father. He was somebody I looked up to and someone I sought counsel from,” he said.
Many gathered at the church to pay their last respects to Mr Tabuatausole and he was laid to rest at the Vatulokaloka Cemetery.
Mr Tabuatausole served under the United Nations Support Mission in Lybia (UNSMIL).
On August 10, 2019 Mr Tabuatausole along with two other UN Staff were killed after the car they were travelling in was hit by a car bomb in the Libyan city of Benghazi.
UNSMIL is an integrated special political mission which was established in September 16, 2011 by UN Security Council Resolution 2009 (2011).
Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dr Satyendra Prasad described Mr Tabuatausole as a proud Fijian who lived and gave the ultimate sacrifice in upholding the tradition of supporting the UN to operate in some of the most difficult regions of the world.
He is survived by his wife Mere Finau and five children.