By Mataeliga Pio Sioa
The Land and Titles Court Deputy President, Judge Faimalomatumua Mathew Lemisio, has closed the door on a long and distinguished career as a public servant, with his resignation from the bench.
His career journey points toward taking up the rough and tumble challenges of the private sector for the first time, since he graduated from law school to join the Office of the Attorney General as a public servant.
Faimalomatumua moved on to become a lawyer for the Electric Power Corporation before he switched to the Office of the Electoral Commissioner.
He worked his way up to become Electoral Commissioner in 2016 until he resigned last year, 2021, to join the judges bench of the Lands and Titles Court as Deputy President.
His resignation comes only 4 months since he was sworn in for judiciary duties, as the second highest judge in the Lands and Titles Court bench.
Faimalomatumua became the centre of national attention in his role as Electoral Commissioner, in the aftermath of an unprecedented political controversial fallout, following the 21 April 2021 general elections.
He was the target of angry retaliation and abusive rhetoric from the current ruling party FAST and supporters, at his interpretation of the Constitutional requirement to include an extra seat for women in Parliament.
The added woman MP went to a Human Rights Protection party election candidate under the 10 per cent requirement stipulated in the Constitution for seats allocated to women members.
The Appeals Court agreed with the Faimalomatumua interpretation but not after the FAST party and its supporters went screaming for his head.
The extra seat for a woman MP threatened to take away the FAST one vote majority at the time.
The fear was the likelihood of a ‘hung Parliament’ without any of the two parties claiming majority to rule forcing a return to general elections.
FAST, however was installed by a court ruling as new Government before the extra seat for a woman was official with court imposed delays until the outcome of bi-elections.
Publicly announced intentions by FAST to give Faimalomatumua the boot as Electoral Commissioner once they were firmly in power, was frustrated when he resigned to take up his new post with the Lands and Titles Court.
But the Minister of Justice gave pursuit and hounded the legality of his appointment in court where a ruling is now pending.
Incidentally, a court ruling is pending also on the extra seat for women in Parliament that has to date changed from one to two seats, following the outcome of general elections.
Faimalomatumua, meanwhile, has not made public the reasons for his resignation except for family commitments.
The political targeting of the former Electoral Commissioner/LTC judge, left his family under huge emotional stress with a lasting toll on their sense of wellbeing and security.
Faimalomatumua is among several Government CEOs with long serving careers in the public sector ruined by political influence either by termination of contracts or forced by a hostile working environment to leave.
More CEO woes are already in the making and expected to surface in the coming weeks.