Metuisela Mua
Colonel Metuisela Mua is former Fijian military officer, intelligence officer and politician.
He was the director of the Fiji Intelligence Services, established by Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka's military government in 1988, until it was disbanded by elected Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry in 1999.[1]
Biography
He was a leading participant in the civilian coup, led by George Speight, which overthrew Chaudhry in 2000. Mua was described during the coup as "one of George Speight's inner sanctum".[2] He subsequently explained that his aim had been to ensure that the Constitution was amended "to guarantee the supremacy of indigenous rights".[3]
Following the failed coup, Mua was "interrogated and beaten [...] by loyalist soldiers and relieved of his job. He then spent five months in prison",[3] having been "convicted of illegal assembly and consorting with people carrying firearms in parliament".[4] He had initially been sentenced to two and a half years in gaol.[5]
During the 2001 general election, in which he stood as a candidate for George Speight's Conservative Alliance in the North East Fijian Urban Communal constituency, he stated publicly that his party would not work with an Indo-Fijian prime minister.[6] He was not elected.[7]
As of 2005, he was assistant general secretary of the Conservative Alliance.[8] The party later merged into the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua.
In 2007, he was arrested on suspicion of implication in an alleged plot to assassinate interim Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama.[9][10] In March 2010, along with seven co-defendants, he was founded guilty "beyond reasonable doubt" by the five assessors of the High Court, a verdict upheld by Justice Paul Madigan.[11] Mua was sentenced to three years and six months in prison.[12]
References
- ^ "Regime revives Fiji spy agency", Fiji Times, 28 February 2008
- ^ "Shots fired as Fiji coup continues", Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 12 June 2000
- ^ a b "FIJIAN MILITARY STILL EXORCISING GHOSTS", Ben Bohane, Pacific Journalism Review, vol.7 n°1, September 2001
- ^ "Early release for coup convict Bukurau" Archived 4 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Pacific Media Watch, 20 May 2006
- ^ "Military Versus Government In Fiji", Pacific Media Watch, 3 February 2006
- ^ "Blunders, tension but a thrilling TV debate" Archived 5 December 2004 at the Wayback Machine, Wansolwora, University of the South Pacific, 24 August 2001
- ^ "ELECTED CANDIDATES FOR 2001 ELECTIONS" Archived 9 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Fiji government website
- ^ "Fiji junior coalition partner denies suggestion of rift with SDL". Radio New Zealand International. 11 April 2005. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ "Check-up for plot suspects", Fiji Times, 15 December 2007
- ^ "Fiji Boils Over", Time magazine, 9 November 2007
- ^ "Fiji High Court finds 8 men guilty of plotting to kill Bainimarama". Radio New Zealand International. 3 March 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ "Fiji plotters sentenced to up to seven years in jail". Radio New Zealand International. 5 March 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
External links
- Image of Metuisela Mua being taken to court on 14 December 2007 for his alleged role in an alleged assassination attempt against Voreqe Bainimarama; "Check-up for plot suspects", Fiji Times, 15 December 2007
