Tonga’s Lord Chief Justice has issued a stern warning over the kingdom’s growing epidemic of machete violence while sentencing a former soldier for a drunken blade attack in Lapaha.
In a landmark ruling that laid bare the court’s hardening stance, Chief Justice Malcolm Bishop declared the weapon’s frequent appearance in alcohol-fueled brawls demanded urgent judicial intervention.
In sentencing 26-year-old Seteone Mu’asika, Mr Bishop said: “What is serious about your case is the use of a machete, which is becoming more frequent in the Kingdom.”
“The Courts must do all they can to stamp out this invidious practice because let the facts be faced, a machete is a lethal weapon.
“It could cause catastrophic and indeed fatal damage, the fact that no such damage was caused here is not determinative of the final outcome of the case because the Courts must do all it can to stamp out the increasing use of machetes during disagreements.”
Chief Justice Bishop then sentenced Mu’asika to six months in prison with a conditional suspension for inflicting serious bodily harm during a machete attack.
The court heard how Mu’asika struck 17-year-old Fe’ofa’aki Pouono in the back during an alcohol-fueled altercation.
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Both Mu’asika and co-accused Sōane Tātola pleaded guilty, though the court was informed that Tātola had escaped jurisdiction and remained at large.
According to prosecution evidence, the confrontation followed separate drinking sessions, with an initial fistfight between Tatola and the victim earlier in the evening.
The situation later escalated when Mu’asika, armed with a machete, and Tatola, wielding a broken bottle, approached Pouono near the village bakery.
Justice Bishop detailed how Tātola first stabbed Pouono with the broken bottle before Mu’asika chased the victim and struck him with the machete.
“It was then that you pursued him with a machete and as he was attempting to mount the fence, you struck his back with the machete. He fell to the ground but managed to get up and escape. You then quit.”
Justice Bishop stated that Pouono’s wounds were caused partially by Mu’asika and partially by Tātola. He then said: “So far as you were concerned, I am satisfied that the injury sustained to his back was consistent with the assault by the machete fortunately no serious injuries ensued, and he was treated conservatively.”
While acknowledging the injuries were not life-threatening, Justice Bishop emphasised the attack’s inherent danger.
In his sentencing remarks, Justice Bishop acknowledged mitigating factors in Mu’asika’s background: “I have read quite a lot about you to your credit, and I am told that you have assisted in the suppression of public disorder in your community and you are in a de facto relationship and have two children. I am also told that you partially take care of your mother financially.”
The Chief Justice noted the defendant’s military service and respectable family standing: “You used to be a soldier and were raised in what I am told and accept is a respectable family well known in the community and as I indicated earlier as you have assisted in the maintenance of good order in your community.”
However, Justice Bishop clarified the limitations of such considerations: “I have considered the comparable authorities helpfully submitted by the prosecution and your learned counsel but as I have previously stated and as the Court of Appeal recently confirmed they are to be regarded as yardsticks rather than strict tumplines, as each case must be decided on their own in fact.”
As part of Mu’asika’s sentence, the court imposed a 12-month suspended prison term for two years, conditional upon completing a life skills and anger management course administered by the Salvation Army, or an equivalent program as directed by the Probation Office.
