Sitiveni Rabuka

Rabuka, by now a colonel, emerged suddenly from obscurity on 14 May 1987 when he staged the first of two military coups to reassert ethnic Fijian supremacy, following the 1987 election, which had brought an Indo-Fijian (ethnic Indian)-dominated government to power. Deposing the elected government, he handed power over to the governor-general, Penaia Ganilau, a high chief whom he expected to implement ethnic Fijian interests. When, however, Ganilau attempted to reinstate the abrogated constitution, Rabuka carried out a second coup on 28 September that year. At first he pledged his allegiance to the Queen, but on 7 October he issued a decree (Declaration – Republic of Fiji Decree 1987 No. 8)[18] proclaiming a republic, abolishing the 113-year link to the British Monarchy. He handed over power on 5 December to an interim administration, headed by Ganilau as President and Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara as Prime Minister, but remained Commander of the Army and Minister of Home Affairs, the National Youth Service, and the Auxiliary Army Service. Ganilau and Mara did not feel strong enough to dismiss Rabuka, but the public support they enjoyed as high chiefs was such that he did not feel strong enough to depose them. An uneasy truce existed between Ganilau and Mara on the one hand and Rabuka on the other.

Rabuka was seen as a hero by the Indigenous members when he overthrew Fiji's first Indian government to install an indigenous Fijian ruling class.[19] During the time of the coup, Rabuka was sometimes referred to in the press as "Colonel Steve Rambo."

In 2006, Rabuka finally apologised for having executed the coups. Fiji Live reported on 28 March that Rabuka had told India's Ahmedabad Newsline, while visiting India for medical treatment, that he regretted his role in the coups, which he described as "democratically wrong."[20]

Following the adoption in 1990 of a new constitution that guaranteed ethnic Fijian domination of the political system, Rabuka was chosen to lead the newly formed Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei in 1991. This party won the parliamentary election of 1992 and Rabuka became Prime Minister. His government was weakened from the outset, however, by a leadership challenge by former Finance Minister Josefata Kamikamica. In 1994, Kamikamica left the party with five of his supporters, depriving Rabuka of a parliamentary majority. A parliamentary election to resolve the impasse was held three years early; the Fijian Political Party won a plurality but fell two seats short of an absolute majority in the 70-member House of Representatives. Rabuka formed a coalition with the small General Voters Party, a small party supported almost entirely by general electors, who comprised Europeans, Chinese, and other minorities. He also agreed to negotiate with moderate leaders of the Indo-Fijian community to draft a controversial new Constitution, which removed most of the provisions that had biased the political system in favour of indigenous Fijians.

The elections of 1999 were the first in many years to see real competition between ethnic Fijians and Indo-Fijians for power. Rabuka lost these elections, and was replaced by Mahendra Chaudhry, the first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister.

Following his electoral defeat, Rabuka was elected Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs. He was forced to relinquish this post in 2001, however, in the wake of allegations made against him by former President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara of complicity in the Fiji coup of 2000, which deposed both Mara and the Indo-Fijian Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, on 19 May 2000. Claiming that the coup leader George Speight – who was then in custody and was later convicted of treason – was only a front, Mara appeared on the Close-Up television program on 30 April 2001 and revealed that on 21 May 2000, two days after the coup, he had confronted Rabuka and Isikia Savua, the police chief, about their possible involvement in it. "I could see it in their faces," Mara declared. Ratu Mara told the programme that within half an hour of Speight's forcible occupation of the Parliament, Rabuka had telephoned Government House (the official residence of the President) to offer to form a government. He further alleged that the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit of the Army had been involved in the coup after receiving training on a farm owned by Rabuka.

In an interview with Fiji's Daily Post on 2 July 2001, Rabuka angrily denied the allegations, saying that they were the ravings of "an angry old man" and "very unbecoming of a national leader and of a statesman." The charges, however, were repeated on the floor of the Senate on 23 October 2004 by Adi Koila Nailatikau, Mara's daughter.

Former Attorney-General Sir Vijay Singh published a memoir in 2006, supporting the allegations against Rabuka. Fiji Village quoted Singh on 18 August 2006 as saying, at the launch of his memoir, "Speaking Out", that Rabuka had told him personally that he was one of the ring-leaders and that real target of the coup was not the Chaudhry government, but Ratu Mara, and that Mara had voiced his own suspicions about Rabuka to Singh. "On Monday (following the Friday coup) I had a telephone conversation with the President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. He had no doubts that it was Mr Sitiveni Rabuka and Mr Isikia Savua", the then Commissioner of Police "who had organised the miserable affair at parliamentary complex," Singh said. Rabuka refused to comment on Singh's allegations, citing sub judice.

Rabuka was also accused of instigating or supporting the mutiny that took place at Suva's Queen Elizabeth Barracks on 2 November 2000. In an interview with the Fiji Times on 12 November 2000, the Military Commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama charged that while the revolt was in progress, Rabuka had visited the barracks with his army uniform in the car, ready to take over command of the army. He also allegedly started issuing orders to soldiers. "Rabuka's words to one of my colonels at the height of the shootings raised my suspicions," Bainimarama said. "He said the Colonel should listen to his instructions. He also criticised my leadership." Bainimarama accused Rabuka of leading soldiers astray by using "confusing" and "deceiving" words.

Bainimarama also accused Rabuka of having "politicised" the Counter Revolutionary Warfare (CRW) unit, which he (Rabuka) had founded as a bodyguard in 1987, to favour both the mutiny and the earlier takeover of parliament in May. Members of the CRW were involved in both the May coup and the November mutiny.

Bainimarama's version was supported by Lieutenant Colonel Viliame Seruvakula, who led the counteroffensive to put down the mutiny. On 13 November 2000, he said that rebels interrogated by the military had implicated Rabuka. He accused Rabuka of trying to take civilians into the barracks to act as human shields for the mutineers, and stated that Rabuka's intention was to "claim military leadership and ultimately overthrow the Government of the day."

Rabuka, a retired officer, denied supporting the mutiny, but refused to comment on an accusation from Bainimarama that he had called a meeting of senior officers loyal to him to depose Bainimarama.

Rabuka's denials of the allegations against him did not end the controversy. On 14 May 2005, The New Zealand Herald reported in its Weekend Herald edition that the Fiji police force was close to making a decision on whether to charge certain unnamed individuals, one of whom the Herald believed to be Rabuka. The report quoted Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes as saying that a major hindrance to their investigation was a "cone of silence" among the close associates of the suspects.

Rabuka was arrested on 11 May 2006 on charges of inciting Lieutenant Colonel Viliame Seruvakula to commit a military mutiny on 2 November 2000, in the aftermath of the 2000 coup. He was alleged to have approached Seruvakula back on 4 July that year, with a view to overthrowing the Military Commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama. He entered no plea, was released on $F 1000 bail, and was required to surrender his passport. He was ordered to report to the Namadi police station between 6 am and 6 pm every Monday and Saturday, and was warned not to try to influence any witnesses, according to a Fiji Live report. It was announced on 17 June that at the request of the Director of Prosecutions, the case had been transferred to the High Court due to the serious nature of the charge.

Rabuka appeared in the High Court on 30 June and pleaded not guilty, Fiji Village reported. The trial was set for 20 October, but this was later changed to 6 November.

Fiji Village reported on 6 September that Rabuka had been refused permission to travel to Papua New Guinea for a golf tournament. Judge Gerard Winter ruled that the charges against Rabuka were serious and that he must not be allowed to abscond. Permission to leave Fiji would therefore be granted for medical emergencies only; the golf tournament did not qualify, he declared.

On 11 December 2006, Rabuka was found not guilty on two counts of inciting a mutiny. The judge cast a deciding vote after the panel of assessors was split.[21]

In early 2005, Rabuka ruled himself out of contesting the 2006 parliamentary election, but on 7 May said he was reconsidering, following appeals from Fijian businessmen and former politicians to be part of a move to unite all ethnically Fijian parties in a joint ticket to contest the next election. "I am genuinely interested because I have always been for Fijian unity," he said. He has stressed that he believes that political unity among indigenous Fijians is essential to prevent the election of an Indo-Fijian dominated government in 2006. He admitted, however, that he was seen as "a stumbling block" by many, but added, "I want to change all that." On 29 May, he said that political unity among the Fijian people should not be looked at half-heartedly as a possibility but wholeheartedly as a need. He accused Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, who has also called for unity among ethnic Fijians, of hypocrisy, saying that in the 1990s there was only one mainstream Fijian party, but that others had split from it and founded numerous competing groups. Qarase and his Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL) were implied to be among those responsible for the disunity.

On 21 August, Rabuka said he was of the opinion that Prime Ministers defeated at the polls should not stand again. Former Prime Ministers remaining politically active led to instability, he said, pointing to recent political upheavals in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands as examples. "It is healthy for party leaders who become prime ministers after being defeated at general elections to take the responsibility for the defeat and bow out of active politics and just become an adviser or remain as a party supporter but not in the front seat running for another election."

On 19 October, Rabuka said that the current parliamentary team representing Cakaudrove enjoyed his full support. He said he would follow the will of the people, however, in deciding whether or not to contest the 2006 elections. Current members of Parliament from Cakaudrove include Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, the paramount chief of the Tovata Confederacy, Manasa Tugia, and Niko Nawaikula.

Despite his role in the formation (30 July 2005) of the Grand Coalition for Fiji, an electoral pact of five political parties supported mostly by indigenous Fijians, to contest the 2006 elections, Rabuka expressed doubts about its workability on 27 December. Public feuding threatened to derail the project, he warned. The recent attack on the 1997 Constitution by Nationalist Vanua Tako Lavo Party leader Iliesa Duvuloco had upset him, he said.

At the same time, Rabuka said that another coup would be unlikely and that given the disunity among indigenous Fijians, attitudes towards a non-indigenous Prime Minister would not matter. The multi-party Cabinet provisions of the Constitution could not be implemented if either the SDL or the Fiji Labour Party (FLP) won the election, he said; if the two parties found the provision unworkable, they should have amended the Constitution and had had five years in which to do so.

On 7 February 2006, Rabuka said that he was still considering whether to contest the forthcoming elections. He thought it "unwise", without elaborating, to contest seats in his native Cakaudrove, or those held by members of the Grand Coalition, and might contest only if an urban open constituency was available. He considered, however, that given his length of time out of politics, making a comeback would be difficult. He also called for all political parties to be, and be seen to be, representing all ethnic groups. Otherwise, the racial faultline in Fijian politics would not be overcome, he said.

In the end, Rabuka decided not to contest the election, and his party fielded only one candidate.

The Fiji Times reported on 15 December 2006 that Rabuka stated that he saw no possibility that Laisenia Qarase, deposed as Prime Minister in a 2006 Fijian coup d'état on 5 December, would return to power. He denied supporting the coup, but said that Qarase, along with deposed President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, were weak leaders who had done nothing to forestall the coup by negotiating with the Military while there was still time. Qarase should have seen the coup coming, Rabuka said.[22]

Following the coup, he criticised Bainimarama's refusal to hold elections, saying it was because Bainimarama wanted to "[keep] away from the role of governing, people and groups he has pre-determined should not govern."[23]

Rabuka mostly kept a low profile after the 2006 coup. In June 2013 however, he came out and said that he would consider running in the proposed 2014 national elections, if they went ahead.[24] He sought the leadership of the newly formed Social Democratic Liberal Party (SoDelPa), the successor party to former Prime Minister Qarase's Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL), which the Military-backed interim government had dissolved, but was rebuffed after he said that he had no regrets about the 1987 coups. "I had to do what I had to do in 1987," he told the Fiji Sun on 30 January 2014.[25][26][27] A subsequent bid for the deputy leadership of the party also ran into stiff opposition.[28] He also sought nomination as a parliamentary candidate, but on 24 August, SoDelPa announced that it had decided not to nominate him.[29] Despite this, he is still a member and supporter of the party.[28]

In June 2016, Ro Teimumu Kepa announced that she was standing down as leader of SODELPA.[30] She was replaced by Sitiveni Rabuka.[6] Rabuka led the party into the 2018 elections.

U.S Ambassador to Fiji Frankie Reed (r) with Sitiveni Rabuka (c).

On 25 May 2018, Rabuka was charged[31] by anti-corruption agency Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption in relation to the declaration of his assets and liabilities as required under the Political Parties Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures Act.[32] He was tried during the election campaign and acquitted.[33] An appeal by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption,[34] which could have resulted in Rabuka's disqualification two days from the poll, was dismissed, with FICAC ordered to pay costs.[35] Shortly before the appeal was decided Rabuka was again called in by police on unspecified charges.[36]

Rabuka won 77,040 votes in the election, gaining a seat in parliament. In a post-election interview, he said that it was unfortunate that the leaders of the two main parties were coup-leaders and that there needed to be "a move away from coup profiled people".[37]

On 26 May 2020, Sodelpa had been suspended for the breach of the Political Parties Act for 60 days effective immediately. All appointees have been declared null and void, and now have 60 days to rectify all issues or face deregistration. Thus, Rabuka can not represent himself as the leader of Sodelpa after the registrar declared the party suspension. On 29 June 2020, Sodelpa suspension was lifted.[38]

On 27 November 2020, Rabuka was ousted as SODELPA leader in a leadership contest. There was speculation that Rabuka would form a new party after his ousting as leader, however he later denied that he would form a new party and would continue to support SODELPA. Gavoka was formally recognised as SODELPA leader on 28 November during the party's AGM meeting. Prominent lawyer Filimoni Vosarogo was chosen as the new Deputy Leader. 21 members of the SODELPA Management Board voted for Gavoka while 20 members voted for Rabuka. The party's caucus was said to be evenly divided over whether the leadership change was the correct course of action.[39]

On 7 December, Rabuka resigned from Parliament and his position as Opposition Leader of Parliament. He made the announcement while responding to the opening of the 2020–2021 Parliament Session by President Jioji Konrote.[40][41]

On 25 July 2021, he was arrested by Fijian police after criticising government moves to amend land legislation.[42]

Rabuka formed a new political party in 2021, named the People's Alliance (PA), to contest the 2022 election.[10] The People's Alliance became the second largest party following the 2022 election, and managed to successfully oust Frank Bainimarama after 16 years of rule, forming a coalition government with SODELPA and the National Federation Party (NFP). Rabuka subsequently became the prime minister-designate.[43] He had been summoned to the police station after questioning the results and calling for a military intervention, despite observers calling the election free and fair.[44] After the NFP-PA coalition formed a government with SODELPA, Rabuka was sworn in as prime minister on 24 December. As part of the coalition agreement, three deputy prime ministers assumed office, NFP leader Biman Prasad, SODELPA leader Viliame Gavoka and Manoa Kamikamica.[45] Rabuka's other ministerial portfolios included information and public enterprises, civil service, foreign affairs and climate change.[46]

On 26 December 2022, Rabuka approved the return of USP Vice-Chancellor Pal Ahluwalia and Padma Lal, wife of the late Professor Brij Lal who were expelled from Fiji by Bainimarama's government.[47]

On 20 January 2023, Rabuka travelled to Kiribati for his first official state visit where he met President Taneti Maamau.[48] The meeting centered on enhancing diplomatic ties and fostering unity within the Blue Pacific region.[49] Previously, Kiribati withdrew from the Pacific Islands Forum in July 2022.[50]