Tonga’s Ministry of Health CEO Dr Siale ‘Akauʻola told Kaniva News this morning he will “act…as soon as possible” after he received a photo and contact from us seeking his comments on an open hole at the hospital that caused public concerns.
Dr ‘Akauʻola believed the opening gap was related to “a drain that has missed its cover”.
“Thank you for forwarding this picture. It looks frightening!” he said.
“I will act on this ASAP”, he added.
The open hole was located at a road in Vaiola Hospital in which one of the locals said it poses danger to public safety and those who regularly visited the largest hospital in Tonga.
When the photos were taken yesteday the hole was not cordoned off and there were no traffic cones or warning signs around it to warn public before anyone could become a victim of the dangerous open gap.
The size of the hole was not known but Mapa Taumālolo who took photos of it said those responsible were “careless” and the hole was “dangerous” for children who regularly at the area.
Two people have been arrested in California in connection to the search for suspects accused of shooting at Sacramento City College in September.
Charlie Hola, 19, and Tevita Kaihea, 19, are facing murder charges for the shooting at the community college that killed one person, Sacramento Police reported today December 29.
Shortly after the incident three months ago Sacramento Police tweeted they were searching for a sole suspect, whom they identified as a “male Tongan, white shirt/beige cargo shorts, last seen fleeing (on) foot from the shooting.â€
The duo  were also charged on attempted murder, discharge of a firearm with great bodily injury, participating in a criminal street gang and motor vehicle theft.
They were scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 31.
Latest suspect info:1 suspect who is not in custody, male Tongan white shirt/beige cargo shorts, last seen fleeing foot from the shooting
This hole is extremely dangerous because many parents and their children as well as motorists used the road where it is located to reach the mortuary. Photo/Mapa Taumālolo
An open hole at a road in Vaiola Hospital poses dangerous risk for children and people who regularly visited Tonga’s largest hospital, a concerned Tongan says.
The hole was not cordoned off and there were no traffic cones or warning signs around it to warn public before anyone could become a victim of the dangerous open gap.
The hole was located near the hospital’s mortuary where hundreds visited from time to time to attend failotu (prayer sevice) for their deceased.
Mapa Taumālolo who took photos of the hole this evening Monday 28 said he feared for the safety of children of parents who visited the mortuary.
He said the authority had been “careless” as children parents have brought with them to the mortuary were playing around the area.
“I am concerned otherwise a child would not become aware of the hole and plunges into it”, Taumālolo said in Tongan.
He said he tried to look for something around the area so he could use it to cover the hole but he could not find any and at the same time he was in a hurry to take his family back home.
Taumālolo also took to Facebook and called on members of the public who could be able to get in touch with hospital authority to let them know about the hole and the risk it has for the public.
Senior officials and civil servants from former governments will be arrested and charged amid Police investigation over Tonga’s decades-long passport scandal.
The revelation was made by Tonga’s Prime Minister Hon ‘Akilisi Pohiva on Television Tonga while he addressed the nation with the annual Christmas message last week.
Hon Pohiva said His Majesty King Tupou VI agreed to begin an investigation over the passport scandal while the former government was in power but it refused to do it.
In April this year His Majesty assented to a move by Pohiva’s government to establish a Royal Commission to investigate the Tongan passport scandal.
Hon Pohiva did not give any details or mentioned names of any particular individuals who Police were investigating.
The Prime Minister also said the work to reclaim Chinese US$25 million grant to Tonga in which the former government transferred to Princess Pilolevu and her Tongasat company was currently pursued in court.
He said he was the one who first filed the lawsuit against the Princess and Tongansat in his attempts to return the money but when he became Tonga’s Prime Minister he was advised to withdraw his name from the legal action because of his role for the government.
Hon Pohiva said the case was now being pursued in court by Mateni Tapueluelu and Tonga’s Public Servants Association.
Police are appealing for help to find an Onehunga man in connection with an aggravated robbery incident that occurred on December 2 in Onehunga.
29 year-old John Fisiitali is likely to be carrying a weapon and members of the public were advised not to approach him.
Anyone who knows where he is or how to locate him should contact Detective Constable Jeffrey Brown on 021 191 3023 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Female pub goers have been advised to take trusted friends with them when they go to pubs so that they can watch each other’s drinks.
The warning came after New Zealand Police said they had received report of two incidents of drink spiking this week.
Two women drank only small amounts of alcohol, but both suffered spiked drink side-effects, like dizziness, memory loss and numbness. One of them was violently ill the next day, Police said.
Makalita Kolo, a Tongan staff at Mangere Electorate Office, said women should go with friends they trusted to pubs and parties so they could look out for each other’s drinks, especially when some of them were on dance floor or away from where their own drinks are.
“Don’t accept drinks offered by people you don’t know,” Kolo said.
“Be vigilant and be safe this Christmas.”
Detective Sergeant Gary Milligan of Palmerston North police warned the city’s party goers to keep an eye out for drink tampering over the New Year’s Eve festive season.
He urged people to buy their own drinks, be wary of accepting beverages from strangers and watch their drinks being poured at the bar.
“If your drink looks cloudy, changes in colour or doesn’t taste right, then don’t drink it,” he said.
Another Police spokesman said it only took a minute or a second to drop in an aspirin-sized pill, some powder or a few drops of liquid into a drink.
“If you are in a noisy pub or club or at a party you probably wouldn’t notice, especially if you have been drinking,” the spokesman said.
“The effects of these drugs can start in 10 to 20 minutes – you could feel dizzy, sleepy, uninhibited, relaxed and open to suggestion.
This is when you can be at risk of rape and sexual assault. Later, as the effects peak, you might be unconscious and not able to defend yourself or even remember what happened.”
The main points
Female pub goers have been advised to take trusted friends with them when they go to pubs so that they can watch each other’s drinks.
The warning came after New Zealand Police said they had received reports of two incidents of drink spiking this week.
Makalita Kolo, a Tongan staff at Mangere Electorate Office, said women should not accept drinks from people they didn’t know.
“Be vigilant and be safe this Christmas,” Kolo said.
Tonga’s Rugby Union board has terminated its contract with its interim CEO Talanoa Fuka Kitekei’aho.
The post is occupied for the moment by former ‘Ikale Tahi captain and interim President Fe’ao Vunipola, who is acting as executive chairman while the Board advertises the post for a second time.
Tonga Rugby Union Board member ‘Āminiasi Kefu said Kitekei’aho had failed to prove to an interview panel last Friday that he possessed the expertise and skills the panel was looking for.
The panelists included former ‘Ikale Tahi and business owner Pēseti Maʻafu, Tonga’s former Attorney General and Minister of Law, ʻĀlisi Taumoepeau, businessman John Paul Chapman, Tonga’s Acting Attorney General, ʻĀminiasi Kefu, Bruce Cook from Rugby World Cup and Vunipola.
Kefu told Kaniva News the post was advertised in the middle of the year, but the interview was postponed after a
Outgoing CEO Talanoa Fuka Kitekei’aho
request from outgoing President ‘Epeli Taione to leave it until after this year’s Rugby World Cup tournament.
When the interview was conducted on December 16, Kitekei’aho was the only applicant left on the list after the other applicants withdrew, Kefu said.
The panel submitted a report on its findings to the Board on December 18 saying Kitekei’aho did not possess the general competence they were looking for in somebody who was going to fill the role of CEO for the Rugby Union, Kefu said.
The board unanimously approved the panel’s report, Kefu said.
Kitekei’aho was given a one-month payment in advance after his post was officially terminated according to Kefu.
The main points
Tonga’s Rugby Union board has terminated its contract with its Interim CEO Fuka Talanoa Kitekei’aho.
The post is occupied for the moment by former ‘Ikale Tahi captain and Interim President Fe’ao Vunipola while the Board advertises the post for a second time.
Tonga Rugby Union Board member ‘Aminiasi Kefu said Kitekei’aho had failed to prove to an interview panel last Friday that he possessed the expertise and skills the panel was looking for.
Kefu told Kaniva News the post was advertised in the middle of the year, but the interview was postponed after a request from outgoing President ‘Epeli Taione to leave it until after the Rugby World Cup.
The by-election for Tongatapu 4 electorate will go ahead despite an appeal by disqualified MP Mateni Tapueluelu.
Tapueluelu was found by Chief Justice Owen Paulsen to have breached Clause 65 of the Tongan Constitution because he registered himself to run for Parliament while he had an outstanding court debt.
Tonga’s Acting Attorney General, ‘Aminiasi Kefu, told Kaniva News this morning (December 22) he received Tapueluelu’s appeal of the judicial decision against him yesterday afternoon. It was registered at the Supreme Court’s Registry Office on Friday 18, six days after Mr Justice Paulsen issued his findings.
However, Kefu said the registration and submission of the appeal at Supreme Court last week could not stop the Speaker of the House from declaring Tapueluelu’s disqualification as an MP and applying for the processing of a by-election to elect a successor.
“Section 6 of the Legislative Assembly Act stipulates that a by-election must be processed [once a member was disqualified] and there is no part of that section that says section 6 must be suspended if there is an appeal,” Kefu said in Tongan.
Kefu said Tapueluelu has already been stripped of his salary and other entitlements he received as an MP.
He said Tapueluelu could only continue to obtain his salary and Parliamentary entitlements if the Court of Appeal ordered a stay of execution of the Supreme Court decision.
The Acting AG said Tapueluelu submitted his appeal together with an application to stay the execution of the judicial decision declaring his election was unconstitutional.
Kefu said the only time the effect of Section 6 of the Legislative Acts could be deferred was when the Court of Appeal ordered a stay of execution. This was the only decision that could stop the Speaker of Parliament and Election Commissioner from beginning the process of holding a by-election.
Kefu said there were two Court of Appeal sessions each year. The next session will be in March 29, 2016. Thatʻs when Tapuelueluʻs appeal will be heard.
Tapueluelu however can apply for stay of execution in January next year and such application could be brought before the Lord Chief Justice, Kefu said.
He said a decision on Tapuelueluʻs appeal should be made before the Legislative Assembly resumed in May next year.
The Acting AG also said he advised the Parliament’s Chief Clerk to hold processing of the by-election until any decisions on Tapueluelu’s appeal was heard. But he said it was entirely up to the Chief Clerk and Speaker of the House to make their final decision on it.
The Chief Clerk of Tonga’s Legislative Assembly did not respond to our request for comment.
The main points
The by-election for Tongatapu 4 electorate will go ahead despite an appeal by disqualified MP Mateni Tapueluelu.
Tapueluelu was found by Chief Justice Owen Paulsen to have breached Clause 65 of the Tongan Constitution because he registered himself to run for Parliament while he had an outstanding court debt.
Tonga’s Acting Attorney General, ‘Aminiasi Kefu, told Kaniva News this morning (December 22) he received Tapueluelu’s appeal of the judicial decision against him yesterday afternoon.
However, Kefu said the registration and submission of the appeal at Supreme Court last week could not stop the Speaker of the House from declaring Tapueluelu’s disqualification as an MP and applying for the processing of a by-election to elect a successor.
A Tongan-New Zealand born woman who ran away from school to go swimming has become the first Pacific Islander to become a member of the University of Auckland Law School Staff.
Helena Kaho, 34, who graduated with a BA, LLB (Honours) and LLM (Honours), was appointed an Assistant Lecturer at the Auckland Law School this year.
Kaho, who is the eldest of four children, said she found the Tongan culture she inherited from her Tongan father an obstacle and did not want to deal with it, but eventually she came to regard it as her fortune.
Helena’s father came to New Zealand in the 1950s and went to St Stephen’s Maori boarding school. He met her mother in the late 1960s.
“I have a sister and two brothers, but I’m the oldest in my family,” Kaho said.
“We were raised in Auckland and didn’t visit Tonga until we were older.
“I got into law because I wanted a challenge.
“I didn’t like school and didn’t try hard to reach my potential, so it wasn’t till I was older and had my children that I realised I wanted to go to university.”
She said she wasn’t sure whether or not she could do it, but she “dreamed big and then I set goals and focused on achieving them.”
“I chose law because I knew it would be a challenge and I have always been interested in criminal law – that what I thought I’d be doing.
“Plus I wanted to impress my dad,” she said, laughing.
Kaho spent less than two years in Tonga, where she attended Tupou High School together with a cousin.
Helena Kaho. Her mother Beverley has a Bachelor of Education and her late father Tavake Kaho was one of the first Pacific psychiatric nurses in New Zealand in the 1970s. Photo/University of Auckland
“I didn’t do too well there, didn’t pay much attention, didn’t really understand enough Tongan to make sense of classes, although a lot of them were in English and the teachers also often spoke Tongan,” the mother of four said.
Kaho remembered vividly how she started wagging school with a friend to go swimming at Vuna wharf.
“Needless to say I got in a lot of trouble when we were found out (can’t hide much in Tonga!) and then I was enrolled in correspondence from NZ.”
“I had to go up into the library at Tupou High to complete my work every day.
“I found it really boring and I just used to stare out the window, sketch stuff and wish for time to pass faster so I could go home and that was how I got through my fifth form year.”
Culture shock
Kaho found the Tongan culture a big problem. She knew very little about it and her Tongan family members mainly spoke to her in English, and it was difficult for her to pick up Tongan.”
“So when I went to Tonga, it was like a total immersion experience, where I experienced Tonga first hand and pretty much unfiltered!” she said.
“I’d describe it as a huge culture shock. At first, I hated it, and I clashed with everyone, my dad’s family, teachers, everyone. I couldn’t wait to return to NZ.”
Paid off
It wasn’t until a few years after she returned to New Zealand that she realised how lucky she was, and how much the Tongan culture influenced who she was.
“I feel blessed that I had that experience because I understand Tongan culture so much better as a result,” she said.
“My siblings haven’t lived there and they can’t speak Tongan, and I know that this has meant that they don’t have that same connection with Tonga that I do.
“To some extent we feel like outsiders – not proficient in Tongan culture, not understanding how things work and protocols.
“We used to feel uncomfortable and so stay away from Tongan events.
“I was able to get past that to a certain degree with my experiences – although I am not fluent in Tongan, I can understand enough to hold a conversation.
“I have researched traditional Tongan culture, our own family history and I can say that I have some understanding of both worlds – Tongan and palagi. I see positive and negative things about both.”
Her work
Kaho said she always thought about the role culture played in how people interpreted the world and how they reacted to what was happening around them.
“Because of this, I especially have a lot of compassion for our young New Zealand-born Tongans,” she said.
“I can see the struggles they go through in negotiating two (or more) cultural worlds, as well as generational gaps between themselves and their parents and that’s one of the reasons I’m interested in youth justice.
“Our laws and legal system are a product of our culture in NZ, although this is not how law is usually portrayed.
“For this reason, the interplay between culture and law and how and where our legal system takes account of ‘other’ cultures is also an area of interest for me.”
The main points
A Tongan-New Zealand born woman who ran away from school to go swimming has become the first Pacific Islander to become a member of the University of Auckland Law School Staff.
Helena Kaho, 34, who graduated with a BA, LLB (Honours) and LLM (Honours), was been appointed an Assistant Lecturer at the Auckland Law School this year.
“I didn’t like school and didn’t try hard to reach my potential, so it wasn’t till I was older and had my children that I realised I wanted to go to university,” she said.
Kaho said she became interested in youth justice because of the cultural pressures facing New Zealand-born Tongans.
In picture: L-R, Acting Attorney General ‘Aminiasi Kefu, Mateni Tapueluelu and Speaker of the House Lord Tu’ivakanō.
The Tongatapu 4 electorate has been declared vacant and Tonga’s Attorney General, ‘Aminiasi Kefu, has declared that a by-election must be called.
The seat was held by MP Mateni Tapueluelu, but the electorate’s Parliamentary seat was declared empty after the Supreme Court ruled that Tapueluelu had outstanding court debts when he ran as a candidate for Parliament.
This breached Clause 65 of the Tongan Constitution, which says that nobody can be elected if they have not paid their court fines on the day they submit their nomination paper to the Returning Officer.
Local media reported last week that Tapueluelu has appealed the court ruling, but Kefu said this morning (December 21) he had not received the appeal and therefore the seat was currently vacant.
Kefu said the: “Tongatapu 4 seat is vacant.”
According to Section 6 of the kingdom’s Legislative Assembly Act, when a seat is declared vacant, the Speaker (in this case Lord Tu’ivakano) will issue a writ for an election. It says the Electoral Commission will work with the Speaker to fix the time and place for the election:
The Attorney General told Kaniva News the court ruling was enough to declare Tapueluelu’s election was void.
Kaniva News understands all appeals against any judicial decisions in Tonga must first be registered at the Supreme Court Registry Office. Copies of the appeals must then be delivered to the Attorney General’s Office for processing.
Kefu said Section 6 of the kingdom’s Legislative Assembly Act accorded with Clauses 23 and 76, which he said the Act strengthened the constitution.
The constitution made it clear that it was the responsibility of the Speaker of the House to declare any disqualification of any MPs and apply for processing of a by-election to elect a successor.
Appeal
Tapueluelu can appeal the court decision after it was made on December 12.
New Zealand-Tongan based Barrister and Solicitor Sione Fonua said he believed that while Kefu’s interpretation of the legal situation was technically correct, Tapueluelu’s legal team could appeal and apply for a stay of execution.
If a stay of execution was approved by the court, Tapueluelu would remain a Member of Parliament until the Court of Appeal made a decision on his appeal.
Fonua said this would depend on whether the Court of Appeal agreed to hear the appeal.
The legal situation
The following are the passages from Tonga’s Constitution and Legislative Assembly Act concerned with a person’s eligibility to be elected or retain a Parliamentary seat.
Section 6 of the kingdom’s Legislative Assembly Acts:
“If any representative shall die or shall resign his seat or shall cease to be qualified for election under clauses 23 and 65 of the Constitution or be unseated in accordance with clause 66 of the Constitution or the provisions of the Electoral Act, his seat in the Legislative Assembly shall thereupon become vacant and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly shall issue a writ for the election of a successor. The Electoral Commission in consultation with the Speaker shall thereupon fix the time and place of such election and the person elected thereat shall hold office for the balance of the term of his predecessor.”
Clause 76 of the Constitution on by-elections:
“Upon the death or resignation of any representative of the nobles or of the people and when a member is deprived of his seat after impeachment, the Speaker shall immediately command that the nobles or the electors of the district which he represented shall elect a representative in his place. But the Legislative Assembly shall have the power to sit and act although its number be not complete.”
Constitution clause 23:
“No person having been convicted of a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment for more than two years, shall hold any office under the Government whether of emolument or honour nor shall he be qualified to vote for nor to be elected a representative of the Legislative Assembly unless he has received from the King a pardon together with a declaration that he is freed from the disabilities to which he would otherwise be subject under the provisions of this clause. (Act 8 of 1961.)”
Constitution clause 66:
“Any person elected as a representative who shall be proved to the satisfaction of the Assembly to have used threats or offered bribes for the purpose of persuading any person to vote for him shall be unseated by the Assembly.”
Constitution clause 65
“Representatives of the people shall be chosen by ballot and any person who is qualified to be an elector may be chosen as a representative, save that no person may be chosen against whom an order has been made in any Court in the Kingdom for the payment of a specific sum of money the whole or any part of which remains outstanding or if ordered to pay by instalments the whole or any part of such instalments remain outstanding on the day on which such person submits his nomination paper to the Returning Officer: Provided that no person holding an office of emolument under the Crown shall enter the Assembly except the Ministers, and the Governors. (Substituted by Act 8 of 1978.)”
Correction: Earlier on we refferred in this story to Section 6 saying it was Section 6 of the kingdom’s Electoral Acts. This was not correct. We should say it was Section 6 of Tonga’s Legislative Assembly Acts.
The main points
The Tongatapu 4 electorate has been declared vacant and Tonga’s Attorney General, ‘Aminiasi Kefu, has declared that a by-election must be called.
The seat was held by MP Mateni Tapueluelu, but the electorate’s Parliamentary seat was declared empty after the Supreme Court ruled that Tapueluelu had outstanding court debts when he ran as a candidate for Parliament.
Local media reported last week that Tapueluelu has appealed the court ruling, but Kefu said this morning (December 21) he had not received the appeal and therefore the seat was currently vacant.
He said the Speaker of Parliament, Lord Tu’ivakano, in consultation with the Election Commissioner, must immediately publish a notice of vacancy, the time, date and place for the by-election.
