By Mataeliga Pio Sioa
The birthplace of Samoa as a sovereign nation at the Mulinu’u Tiafau Malae, descended into political madness on Monday 24 May 2021, even before many had their morning breakfast.
Parliament Building was already locked, sealed and under heavy police guard by then under the authority of the Speaker of the House, Toleafoa Fa’afisi.
What followed was a sequence of political instability like never before in close to 60 years of independence.
The Fa’atuatua Samoa Ua Tasi or FAST political party turned up early at Parliament House spurred by a Supreme Court emergency Sunday verdict to overrule the Head of State’s proclamation to suspend Parliament.
Entry was denied, however, so the political party and its supporters decided to camp under the tents in front of the building.
Shortly afterwards, Chief Justice Satiu Simativa Perese, led a Judiciary procession from the adjacent Court House and personally tried to enter Parliament.
Finding the entrance locked His Honour then reversed the Judiciary procession direction and retreated back to the Court House.
For most of the host afternoon the FAST party camp laid siege to the Parliament Building until late into the evening when they decided on their own to swear in a new Government.
Party leader Fiame Naomi Mataafa was sworn in as new Prime Minister by the party husband-wife team of lawyers, former Attorney General Taulapapa Brenda Latu and Matafeo George Latu.
The Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and his HRPP party did not attend Parliament after deeming it unconstitutional while the 6th woman MP appeal is pending in court.
PM Tuilaepa in a press conference at party headquarters as night settles, condemned the FAST new Government swearing in as ‘treasonous’.
The Constitution stipulates the swearing in of a new Government is by the Head of State or the Member of the Council of Deputies.
The Chief Justice is the third option in the absence of both.
The PM assured the country and the international community that the custodian Government in place is in keeping with the law and will remain until a new Government is legally formed.
He insisted there is still a way out of the political standoff between the two parties but did not venture further.
With two governing political powers in place, one official and the other unofficial, the political madness is expected to continue with the dawn of a new day with many more to come and still no end in sight except a dark sinister tunnel.
Many more chapters are yet to be written as instability in a country ‘Founded On God’ slips deeper into political hell.