By Max Walden and Fiji reporter Lice Movono, ABC
Fiji's coalition government continues to struggle at bringing democratic processes back after 16 years of dictatorship. (Supplied) Photo: ABC/Supplied
Even by Fijian standards of high political drama, the arrest of the country's new anti-corruption commissioner on her first day in the job was extraordinary.
The government announced Barbara Malimali's appointment as head of the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) in early September.
By the next morning, she was being questioned by police after being detained on the direction of her own acting deputy commissioner, Francis Puleiwai.
Barbara Malimali says she wants to be able to protect Fiji from corrupt public officials. (X: Fiji Women) Photo: X/Fiji Women
Claims of political interference in corruption investigations have swirled, leading Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka to promise a commission of inquiry.
So, what went down at Fiji's corruption watchdog? What do claims of drinking and swimming with a judge on a Tuvalu beach have to do with it?
And what does it all mean for Fiji's fledgling democracy?
Why was Barbara Malimali arrested?
Puleiwai claimed Malimali should not have been considered for the head of FICAC because she was being investigated by the same organisation for allegedly abusing the powers of her previous role - as chair of the Electoral Commission.
"The public needs to know that the appointment was done in haste," said Puleiwai, who promptly resigned as acting deputy after Malimali's arrest.
Francis Puleiwai fled to Australia after ordering investigators to arrest her boss. Photo: ABC/Supplied
"They could have waited until we completed the investigation."
Separate to that, Puleiwai also alleged there was political interference into FICAC's other investigations into senior members of the government.
In a statement earlier this month refuting Puleiwai's allegations, FICAC said "there hasn't been any interference of any sort by the current coalition government or any political parties…due processes are strictly adhered to".
What is FICAC and why was it set up?
The Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption was established in 2007 under Fiji's long-ruling authoritarian prime minister Frank Bainimarama.
However, observers say the body did not fulfil its ostensible purpose.
Frank Bainimarama is accused by critics of weaponising Fijian institutions against his opponents. Photo: ABC News/Marian Faa
"Some foolish overseas academics thought it was a legitimate anti-corruption body, but its first and foremost purpose was to harass, constantly threaten and arrest the opponents of Bainimarama," said Victoria University of Wellington politics professor Jon Fraenkel.
"They even used FICAC against their own people, either when they fell out of favour or to keep them in line."
Malimali, the new commissioner, agreed.
She said FICAC historically had been "weaponised against the people of Fiji".
"It was basically used to go after political opponents and anyone who opposed the then regime."
Observers say that the anti-corruption commission should be an important pillar of Fijian democratic checks and balances. Photo: ABC/Supplied
She said that is what motivated her to join the commission under Fiji's coalition government, which unseated Bainimarama after 16 years in late 2022.
"FICAC can be used to protect the interests of Fiji, to keep us safe from corrupt civil servants," Malimali said.
"Let me do the work so I can serve the people of this country the way I should serve them, and the way FICAC should serve them."
What was the response to Ms Malimali's arrest?
Malimali told the ABC that half a dozen officials turned up to arrest her and held her for four hours.
The arrest has disrupted Ms Malimali's first month in the job, she says. Photo: Fiji Police Force/Supplied
Fiji's Attorney-General Graham Leung condemned Malimali's arrest, describing it as "unseemly", "unbecoming" and "severely open to question".
Leung said the accusations against Malimali at the Electoral Commission "arose out of a misunderstanding".
He also suggested that Puleiwai was targeting Malimali because she had applied unsuccessfully for the top job.
Puleiwai told the ABC she did not act out of jealousy.
What has happened since?
Puleiwai resigned as deputy commissioner at FICAC and has since fled to Australia, alleging that allies of Malimali had slashed her car's tyres.
"I was worried too because we have children," she told the ABC.
Malimali denied any involvement from her associates, telling the ABC: "I don't do threats."
"People I spend time with would not stoop so low as to threaten a woman and her children," she said.
"We're too old and fat to go and be doing threats in the middle of the night or do heavy breathing on the telephone."
Rabuka, the prime minister, has said his cabinet will establish a commission of inquiry to investigate FICAC's processes
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has pledged a commission of inquiry into FICAC. (AFP: Saeed Khan) Photo: AFP/Saeed Khan
Responding to Puleiwai's claims of threats to her family's safety, Rabuka said the situation in Fiji was safe and stable.
"If there's anyone under the most threat, it's me, and I have not felt any any threat," he said.
How has social media shaped the fallout?
Malimali told the ABC it had been difficult to get on with her job because of "keyboard warriors" and the spread of rumours in both traditional and social media.
Malimali went from head of Fiji's Electoral Commission to anti-corruption commissioner. Photo: ABC/Supplied
In the wake of the arrest, opponents of Malimali have gone further to undermine her by posting transcripts of a court case in which she was involved in Tuvalu in 2016.
The court heard that she was involved in a night of drinking with a judge who was presiding over a case in which she was representing a client, with witnesses saying they returned "dripping wet" after a walk alone on the beach.
The judgement said whether they swam together or the judge simply stayed and watched Malimali swim was "not critical to the interpretation of the events".
The court found the pair's conduct suggested their association had "crossed the line of normal professional conduct" and went on to overturn the judge's decision at the time.
The recent publication of the documents on several blogs in Fiji has unleashed a torrent of sexist abuse of Malimali online.
Ahead of their publication by the bloggers, Puleiwai supplied the ABC with the same documents but admitted they were not part of the investigation she had ordered into Malimali.
Speaking to the ABC, Malimali did not deny there was an incident in Tuvalu but said to her knowledge no legal complaint in Fiji had been made.
"If people say that somebody partying or having a couple of drinks makes one unsuitable for a job, then that would disqualify most of us," she said.
"Having a job like this, I can't go out and have a couple of beers?"
According to Leung, the attorney-general, Malimali's arrest and its dramatic fallout were indicative of "a worrying trend in this country of maligning people based on rumours and innuendo".
Puleiwai maintains that Malimali should not have been appointed to the role.
Can Fiji shake off the legacy of the Bainimarama years?
Fiji's coalition government continues to struggle at bringing democratic processes back after 16 years of authoritarian rule.
Bainimarama is another former coup leader and now opposition figure who was last year suspended from parliament for three years for a speech in which he accused the current government of "setting out to destroy constitutional democracy".
Experts say the establishment of FICAC as a robust, genuinely independent body is key to the healthy flourishing of Fijian democracy.
"Democracy is about more than just elections," said Professor Fraenkel.
"It also requires the rule of law, a free media, open and transparent accountability institutions and a parliament that operates in an accessible way."
-This article was first published by ABC.
