Fiji’s former prime minister Frank Bainimarama sentenced to one year in prison | Corruption News

The judge says Bainimarama abused his power to shut down an investigation into alleged corruption at the University of the South Pacific

Frank Bainimarama, who served as Fiji’s prime minister for about 15 years until he lost power in 2022, has been jailed for a year after being found guilty of using his position to shut down a corruption investigation into a well-known university.

Bainimarama, once head of the armed forces, seized power in a coup in 2006 and later won democratic elections in 2014 and 2018.

The 70-year-old narrowly lost the December 2022 election to a coalition of parties led by current Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, but remains a popular figure.

A crowd of supporters gathered outside the court in Suva on Thursday before the verdict was announced.

Bainimarama’s wife Maria sobbed as acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo announced his decision and the former prime minister was led away in handcuffs.

Bainimarama was found guilty earlier this month of perverting the course of justice by telling then police commissioner and long-time ally Sitiveni Qiliho not to investigate corruption allegations at the University of the South Pacific.

Qiliho was sentenced to two years in prison in the case, which relates to a police investigation in July 2020 into alleged corruption related to a web of bonuses, promotions and salary increases within the institution. The court found that the two men had used their influence to ignore the investigation.

Both men denied the allegations.

Bainimarama’s legal problems have increased since Rabuka, a former military commander who himself led two takeovers of power in the late 1980s, became prime minister.

In February 2023, Parliament suspended him until 2026 after he criticized his successor in a speech.

A year later, two separate charges of abuse of office were brought against him. One count related to the alleged unlawful dismissal of two police officers in 2021. The other related to his alleged rejection of a tender offer “without lawful justification” when he was finance minister in 2011.