Lynda Tabuya during a parliament session in December 2024. Photo: Facebook / Parliament of the Republic of Fiji
A former Fijian Cabinet minister is suing the editor of Fijileaks, who allegedly exposed a private video of her dancing naked.
Lynda Tabuya is taking legal action against Victor Lal, a veteran Fijian journalist who now resides in London.
"On legal advice from my counsel in the UK, I have instituted criminal proceedings against Mr Lal," the MP said on Facebook.
"Given that online crimes are transnational in nature, as a Fiji citizen, he will be held accountable to the full extent of the law."
"This could include possible extradition to Fiji to face charges here. I plan to travel to the UK to register complaint as well," Tabuya said.
Tabuya has claimed she made the explicit clip for her ex-husband Rob Semaan, and that it had been hacked from her stolen phone.
The video was sent to FijiLeaks - a blogsite known for breaking news about political corruption and human rights issues in Fiji - before it was emailed to Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, as well as key figures in government.
It was also sent to Fiji Women's Crisis Centre coordinator Shamima Ali, who revealed who in government received an email from the blogsite.
She believed someone close to Rabuka sent the video to the blogsite, because Tabuya was seen as a threat to his leadership.
The video went viral, prompting Rabuka to remove Tabuya from his Cabinet on 26 December.
"In our patriarchal society, you have to do as you're told and be a good girl and I think Rabuka has bowed to political pressure," Ali told RNZ Pacific.
"He [Rabuka] is also thinking of his own career with the general election looming in 2026," she said.
The People's Alliance Party (PAP) decided not to dump her "in the spirit of second chances" this week, partly due to her popularity with young voters.
Tabuya was the fourth highest polling candidate in the 2022 general election after Frank Bainimarama, Sitiveni Rabuka, and Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
With the two former FijiFirst leaders now out of the picture, she is second only to Rabuka in popularity, making her invaluable under the country's single-constituency electoral system.
PAP general secretary Sila Balawa told RNZ Pacific that older members of the party resisted the decision to keep Tabuya, but said they determined it was clear she did not intend to discredit the party.
FijiLeaks' response was: "PAP'S NAUGHTY MP Lynda Tabuya will remain in Parliament's NAUGHTY CORNER."
"There is no way she will be able to retain her 11,000 plus votes in 2026. Fijians have already started branding PAP as Porn Alliance Party."
A source close to Semaan, the director of Pacific Building Solutions, told RNZ Pacific that he did not want to get involved.
FijiLeaks on Tabuya's past indiscretions
A year ago, the blogsite released explosive allegations of Tabuya's extramarital affair with fellow Cabinet minister Aseri Radrodoro, who is the Minister of Education.
FijiLeaks told RNZ Pacific at the time it received lurid details of an intimate night in Melbourne betwwen Tabuya and Radrodro, when they were part of a parliamentary delegation to Victoria.
Screenshots of communications and images allegedly shared between the two MPs were circulated widely on social media platforms like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
The leaked images show one minister allegedly admitting to "getting drunk and high" on marijuana and sharing lewd images.
Tabuya had declined to comment, only replying: "It is fake news."
RNZ Pacific has reached out to FijiLeaks editor Victor Lal and approached Tabuya multiple times for comment.
