By Mataeliga Pio Sioa
Former Attorney General, Savalenoa Ms. Mareva Betham Annandale, is taking the Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa to court, for her dismissal from office last year.
Savalenoa filed her lawsuit last Friday for ‘unlawful and unconstitutional termination’ after serving only 14 months from July 2020 to September 2021.
It is yet to be confirmed if she is asking for any damage costs for loss of employment.
The former AG’s troubles with PM Fiame as Minister in charge started at a difficult time of unprecedented political turmoil in the aftermath of the April 2021general elections.
A letter in early August 2021 from the PM questioning why the AG has taken no action against the Opposition attacks on the Judiciary was the first public sign of trouble.
Fiame did not take well to calls by the opposition HRPP party for Chief Justice Satiu Perese to resign, over the Supreme Court ruling in favour of installing FAST as the new Government.
AG Savalenoa in response pointed a comparative look at the wave of political opinions sparked by the volatile political environment at the time.
She underlined as well the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 13 of the Constitution making it a Constitutional right.
“ What I have noted is that criticisms, whether justified or not, have been leveled against everyone from the last Government to your Government, to the Honourable Judiciary as well as against Government officials including myself,” Savalenoa wrote in her letter of response.
Freedom of speech is, however, not absolute and she pointed that out as well.
“What can be done is that we make an assessment of what has been said, what meets the threshold for an offence, what requires a complainant, and what I can initiate on my own.”
The friction created between the two parties reached the point where the AG was suspended over the performance of her duties the PM did not approve of.
Her suspension was followed by termination of service on the advice of the PM that she cannot work with Savalenoa as AG.
The legal action the former AG is now taking against the Government leader as her former Minister includes the Attorney General.
Savalenoa is the first Chief Executive Officer of a Government Ministry to file a lawsuit against Government on matters related to being unfairly removed from service.
The lineup of CEOs who lost their work contracts either through termination or non-renewal appears to continue since FAST took over as the ruling party.
The trend has drawn critical reaction from the opposition HRPP. (see other story)