Fiji ex-PM bailed by court on abuse of office charge

Former Fiji prime minister Frank Bainimarama was granted bail in court Wednesday, after spending a night in jail on an abuse of office charge stemming from his time in government.

The 69-year-old former naval commodore seized power in a bloodless coup in 2006, leading the Pacific archipelago nation until he was voted out of power following elections in December 2022.

The single charge against Bainimarama dates back to 2011 when, as the then finance minister, he is alleged to have “recklessly abused his position” by waiving a tender bid “without lawful justification”, police said in a statement.

Alongside Bainimarama, Fiji’s former attorney general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and ex-health minister Neil Sharma were also arrested, charged and detained on Tuesday, police said.

The trio appeared at Suva Magistrates Court.

Wearing a sulu, a traditional kilt-like garment, Bainimarama looked relaxed, but didn’t comment as he entered the courthouse.

During a brief hearing, Bainimarama, Sayed-Khaiyum and Sharma were each granted bail for FJ$10,000 (US$4,452). Their next court appearance is set for March 19.

Sayed-Khaiyum faces an abuse of office charge and is also accused of intentionally obstructing the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption during an investigation.

Prosecutors have also laid four charges against Sharma on two counts, for both abuse of office and breach of trust offences.

The latest allegations against Bainimarama come after he was found not guilty of perverting the course of justice in a separate case last October.

Bainimarama had been accused of using his political clout to shut down a sensitive police probe relating to an investigation into staff at Fiji’s University of the South Pacific in July 2020, when he was prime minister.