Fiji’s former leader Frank Bainimarama has been sentenced to prison for interfering in a police investigation

By ROD McGUIRK

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Former Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama was sentenced Thursday to a year in prison for interfering in a criminal investigation while leading the government of his South Pacific island nation.

Acting Chief Justice of Fiji’s Supreme Court, Salesi Temo, convicted the 70-year-old in the capital Suva of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Suspended police commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho has been sentenced to two years in prison for abuse of office, The Fiji Times newspaper reported.

Bainimarama had led his government for 16 years, first as military dictator after a coup in 2006 and then as prime minister, democratically elected in 2014 and 2018. After the 2022 election, he was replaced by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who also first seized power in 1987 as the leader of an attempted coup.

Bainimarama was prime minister in 2019 when he dropped a police investigation into allegations of financial mismanagement at the University of the South Pacific.

The university is owned by 12 Pacific island nations and its main campus is in Suva. The university management had alleged to the police that funding abuse and mismanagement had been going on for a decade.

Prosecutors claimed the prime minister and police commissioner dropped an ongoing police investigation into former university employees. Prosecutors said police are continuing their investigation and may file additional charges.

A lower court judge acquitted Bainimarama and Qiliho of the charges last October. But prosecutors successfully appealed to the Supreme Court, which convicted both.

Bainimarama did not react as his verdict was read, but his wife, Mary Bainimarama, burst into tears as she sat by his side in court, Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.

His lawyers said they would appeal, but Temo rejected their request for Bainimarama to be released on bail pending an appeal court hearing.

Police led Bainimarama from the court in handcuffs to a van that took him to a prison outside Suva.