Tonga’s Parliament was thrown into turmoil last week after Lord Tu‘ilakepa, Chair of the Whole House Committee, disclosed a chilling death threat made against lawmakers on social media.
The threat, allegedly from a supporter of the Minister of Police, warned of shooting “someone in Parliament,” raising urgent security concerns.
Lord Tu‘ilakepa urged immediate action, revealing that the same individual had been arrested previously for allegedly brandishing a machete in another threatening incident.
“This cannot be ignored—the safety of MPs is at stake,” he declared.
The noble expressed concern, noting the suspect’s behaviour is escalating from previous incidents to targeting Members of the House.
He told the Speaker that MPs are scared due to the shooting threats.
However, the Minister of Police Piveni Piukala dismissed the complaint as a “waste of time,” arguing that Parliament should focus on pressing matters like the Auditor’s reports. If the noble has concerns, he should file a report with police instead of disrupting House proceedings,” the minister said, questioning the complaint’s timing.
The Speaker intervened, citing Clause 70 of the Constitution, which grants MPs the right to raise threats against Parliament’s MPs.
The debate has intensified tensions, with lawmakers divided over prioritizing security versus legislative business.
Speaker, Lord Fakafanua, has referred the complaint to the Standing Committee on Privileges and instructed the Committee to report back with their findings as soon as possible.
Impeachment
Lord Tu’ilakepa’s complaint follows the Minister of Police’s impeachment, which was confirmed after the Parliament’s Standing Committee determined Piukala had violated Clause 70 of Tonga’s Constitution.
The Speaker said two letters of complaint had been recently delivered to Minister Piukala.
The letters of complaint stemmed from tensions that began in September 2024 when Lord Fohe filed a formal complaint alleging Minister Piukala had insulted nobles Lord Tu’i’afitu, Lord Vaea, and Lord Tu’ilakepa by calling them “kulikuli” (smelly).
A second complaint emerged alleging Piukala had derided Parliament as a house of fools (“vale”), criticizing what he called a lack of proper debate before voting.
The Minister denied both allegations, stating he had already addressed similar claims in previous sessions.
