A political storm is brewing in Tonga as the Minister for Public Enterprises and Police, Piveni Piukala, publicly refuses to retract statements about a missing shipping container—statements that have now triggered a formal defamation allegation.
It is understood, a company has demanded the retraction through its lawyer.
The controversy stems from a press conference where Minister Piukala commented on the mysterious disappearance of a container from the secured Queen Salote Wharf.
As Kaniva News reported last month, Piukala alleged that a group he described as an organised crime unit may have been responsible for the disappearance.
Minister Piukala revealed that the case was serious enough for him to personally engage the Head of the National Security and Intelligence Unit.
“I believe this is part of an organised crime,” he stated at the time, emphasising that Tonga is battling a deeply entrenched criminal network exacerbated by systemic corruption.
Expressing his disbelief at the incident, the Minister highlighted the stringent protocols required for releasing a container from the wharf.
“It’s not just one person who signs it out—it involves multiple authorities, including the shipping agency, Customs Ministry, Port Authority, and Stevedores,” he said in Tongan.
“For someone to remove a container without leaving a trace through this entire process is beyond reason.”
He said that he found it difficult to understand how it could happen in a workplace with a sophisticated process in place to ensure the release of any container is approved.
Minister Defies Legal Retraction Demand
In a legal letter dated August 21, 2025, addressed to a representative known only as Mr Edwards, the Minister stood firmly by his remarks.
“I refuse to retract my statements, as they were made in good faith and reflect a reasonable assessment of the factual circumstances,” Minister Piukala stated in the letter.
“My comments did not, at any point, accuse any specific body or your client, of misconduct or criminal activity but rather highlighted legitimate concerns about port security procedures, which is a matter of public interest.”
He clarified that his comments were not an accusation but an expression of concern over systemic issues.
“Not once did I directly or indirectly imply that your client is responsible or at fault, but simply part of a weak procedure.”
The Minister, addressing Edwards’s allegation, recounted his remarks from the press conference and interviews as follows:
“For a shipping container to be cleared from a secured port facility, it would typically need to pass through multiple regulatory and operational checkpoints, including those managed by the shipping agency, Customs Ministry, Ports Authority, and Stevedores; this is a fact. Therefore, for it to just go “missing” without any clear indication of what went wrong and where it went wrong, reasonably raises concerns and suspicions on how it could have happened at all.
I characterized the incident as suspicious and suggested it could indicate systemic vulnerabilities, simply highlighting the lack of strategic procedures and strict rules controlling entry and exit of cargo and personnel – a procedure which involves your client and other entities. This is also a fact, there are weaknesses in the current practice. Not once did I directly or indirectly imply that your client is responsible or at fault, but simply part of a weak procedure.”
