After more than a year of disappearance from the public eye that has sparked an increasingly feverish wave of online conspiracy theories, ‘Etuate Lavulavu has finally been seen out in public.
The former Cabinet Minister and his wife Akosita Lavulavu, also a former MP and Cabinet minister, are awaiting retrial after an Appeal Court decision overturned the 2021 Supreme Court decision, which sentenced them to six years in jail.
‘Etuate appeared on a streamed video last week and shared his ideas on Tonga’s recent Vote of No Confidence.
The last update we had on the Lavulavus retrial was late last year.
We reported that Tonga’s Attorney General was appealing a Supreme Court ruling that prevented the use of the Auditor’s report on Lavulavus’ school attendance as admissible evidence in the couple’s pending retrial.
The couple had previously been jailed after charges they had fraudulently claimed $US250,000 in government funding given to their private school, ‘Unuaki ‘O Tonga Royal Institute, to cover student transition.
The retrial was delayed multiple times after the Lavulavus protested against the evidence used against them.
‘Etuate was also reported being admitted to a hospital in New Zealand last year.
His doctor had long advocated for him to receive home care while he was in jail due to his health conditions.
