A Tongan missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has made a heartbreaking final journey home after reportedly dying while serving his mission in Africa.

The missionary, identified as Elder Vave, was returned home in a coffin, with his death prompting an outpouring of condolences and tributes from Latter-day Saints and others around the world.

A moving account of his return, shared on social media by people including one who encountered the funeral procession while travelling home from work, contrasted Elder Vave’s homecoming with the joyful airport reunions normally experienced by missionaries after completing their service.

For many Latter-day Saint families, the return of a missionary is a long-awaited occasion, with parents, siblings and relatives gathering at the airport to welcome them home after an extended period of service.

But Elder Vave’s return was profoundly different.

Instead of walking through the airport to embrace the family waiting for him, his body arrived in a coffin.

“Elder Vave is returning home, but he will not be hugging his family,” the tribute said.

The writer reflected on another poignant difference between Elder Vave’s return and that of missionaries who complete their service — the missionary name badge.

Ordinarily, missionaries are formally released from their calling after returning home and remove the name badge that has identified them throughout their full-time service.

In Elder Vave’s case, the tribute said he would be laid to rest still bearing the title by which he was known during his mission.

“He will be buried with his Missionary pin, and when they speak of him he will continue with his title as Elder Vave,” the tribute said.

The writer described his death through the Latter-day Saint belief that his missionary service would continue beyond this life, turning what would normally have been the celebration of a completed mission into an emotional final homecoming.

Tributes flow from around the world

Tributes and messages of sympathy have poured in from Latter-day Saints and others around the world following news of Elder Vave’s death.

Among those responding was a mother whose son is serving in the same country, although in a different mission. She said she had heard about Elder Vave’s death more than two weeks earlier and understood he had been only about two weeks away from returning home.

“It breaks my heart for his family,” she wrote.

The news also resonated deeply with former missionaries, with one describing Elder Vave’s story as “emotional and moving” as he recalled the close bonds he had formed with his own missionary companions. He called on people to pray for Elder Vave’s family and loved ones as they cope with their loss.

Many of the messages reflected the Latter-day Saint belief that death had not brought Elder Vave’s missionary calling to an end.

“His mission continues on the other side of the veil,” one tribute read.

For one mother, the story brought back painful memories of losing her own missionary son.

She said her son died while serving in the Lae Mission in Papua New Guinea in 2015, with six months of his mission remaining. Elder Vave’s story had brought her to tears, she said, before offering a poignant farewell: “Safe journey home.”

Other messages offered prayers and condolences to Elder Vave’s family, friends and missionary companions, with several expressing the belief that he would continue his missionary service after death.

Details surrounding Elder Vave’s death, including the country in Africa where he had been serving and the circumstances of his death, were not immediately available.

Further details are being sought.

Tributes are flowing for a woman identified as Siokapesi Hefa following reports that she died after a boat overturned in Tonga.

Photos of Hefa shared alongside messages of condolence showed her dressed in a nursing uniform and identified her as a nurse at Vaiola Hospital.

Friends, relatives and members of the community have taken to social media to mourn her death as news of the incident spread.

Her reported death follows an incident involving a boat that apparently overturned after being launched.

Video footage circulating online and reported earlier by Kaniva News showed another boat towing the overturned vessel, which was upside down in the water.

Preliminary reports said a woman had died in the incident and that marine authorities had been called to the scene.

Further details about what caused the vessel to overturn and the circumstances surrounding Hefa’s reported death remain unclear.

Heartfelt tributes have continued to flow on social media as family members, friends and members of the community mourn Siakapesi’s sudden death and share memories of her life.

One commenter wrote: “Gone too soon,” expressing shock and sadness at her sudden death.

Another commenter, who said she had been a friend of the deceased, described her as a kind and loving person whose death had left her struggling to find words.

A third mourner offered condolences to Siokapesi’s family, saying they were in her thoughts and prayers during what she described as a heartbreaking time.

Another tribute remembered her for the positive impact she had on those around her, saying her memories would remain with the people who knew and loved her.

Police have yet to publicly release an official statement confirming the incident or providing details about the victim and circumstances of her death.

Kaniva News is seeking further information from authorities.

The story will be updated as more official information becomes available.

A Tongan father accused of giving his teenage son the gun allegedly used in a fatal shooting outside a funeral service in Utah has made his first court appearance.

Afuhia Masiu Manatau appeared remotely from the Salt Lake County Jail on Tuesday following his arrest over the August 17 shooting in Kearns, FOX 13 News reported.

Manatau has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Vilisoni Angilau.

His 17-year-old son, Taitusi Kai Manatau, has also been charged with murder.

According to FOX 13 News, authorities allege Manatau gave his son the firearm following an altercation between Taitusi and Angilau outside a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stake center.

Taitusi allegedly shot and killed Angilau.

Angilau’s twin brother then managed to take possession of the gun and allegedly used it to shoot and injure Taitusi.

The twin brother was subsequently struck by gunfire after either Taitusi or his father allegedly regained possession of the weapon, FOX 13 reported.

Taitusi and Angilau’s twin brother were both taken to hospital in critical condition.

Authorities allege Manatau and two other people then placed his injured son in a minivan and drove away before being stopped several blocks from the scene.

In addition to the murder charge, Manatau faces multiple counts of felony discharge of a firearm, assault and obstruction of justice.

Taitusi faces murder, two counts of felony discharge of a firearm and one count of obstruction of justice.

During Tuesday’s brief appearance, the court scheduled Manatau’s detention hearing and scheduling conference before Judge Patrick Corum for September 11.

Source: FOX 13 News, Salt Lake City.

Several Tongan pickleball players were unable to compete in an international tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah, after their United States visa applications were denied amid tighter US entry restrictions on Tongan nationals.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported the players had planned to join Team Kalia, an international pickleball club comprising players from Tonga, New Zealand and Australia, for a tournament against the predominantly Polynesian Die Hard Pickleballerz in Salt Lake City.

Team Kalia president Johnny Hafoka said eight players from Tonga were able to attend this year’s tournament, compared with 20 last year.

Those who made the trip were players who already held valid multiple-entry US visas and had previously travelled to the country.

The difficulties come as the Trump administration has tightened US entry and visa restrictions affecting Tongan nationals.

The US began partially restricting entry and visa issuance for Tongans in January, citing high rates of visa overstays. Tonga was the only Pacific island country included in the restrictions.

Tonga was also added to the US State Department’s visa-bond programme on January 21.

Under the programme, some Tongan visitors applying for US visas can be required to pay a bond of US$5,000, US$10,000 or US$15,000 before receiving a visa, with the amount determined during the visa interview.

Hafoka said some players could not afford the bond and were therefore unable to make the trip.

Those who successfully travelled to Salt Lake City also faced scrutiny at the border.

Team Kalia coach Tosilani Sanft, who is from Tonga, told The Salt Lake Tribune he was questioned by US officials for about four hours after arriving at the airport.

Sanft said officials questioned his identity and reason for travelling and took his cellphone for inspection.

He said that even after explaining he had travelled to the US to play pickleball, the questioning continued, leaving him feeling officials were trying to get him to say he had come to work.

The tournament went ahead at Glendale Park with support from Salt Lake City’s large Tongan and Pacific Island community.

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

Editorial – A Supreme Court judge’s recent decision to scrutinise a medical certificate and seek clarification from the doctor who issued it raises an important question for Tonga’s justice system: should courts make it standard practice to independently verify medical evidence that excuses a defendant from appearing or could halt proceedings?

The judge’s intervention is particularly significant given some recent court outcomes involving defendants with reported mental-health conditions that have surprised members of the Tongan community. Some people who claimed to know the defendants have questioned on social media whether they were genuinely mentally incapacitated.

While community perceptions cannot be used to disqualify medical evidence, they should not be dismissed entirely in serious cases in a small and closely connected society such as Tonga. In a community where people are highly visible and interdependent, people’s knowledge of one another’s behaviour and conduct inevitably shapes public perceptions, and controversial court decisions can easily undermine confidence in the justice system.

The Tongan community is characterised by nofo ʻa kāinga, a closely interconnected social system in which people, including those in positions of authority, are bound by relationships and expectations of mutual assistance. Within this system, helping one another is regarded as a normal social obligation, even in circumstances where such assistance could potentially conflict with legal or institutional responsibilities.

While we cannot discuss certain cases in detail for legal reasons, the Ministry of Justice and the courts should be able to identify them from their records. These include several high-profile drug cases and cases in which people were reportedly recommended for release from prison on medical grounds because their illness was considered incurable, yet, several years later, remain actively involved in community activities. Although this does not necessarily invalidate the original medical assessment, it may understandably raise questions within the community.

Such cases have long been the subject of mockery within the community. Public scepticism has become so entrenched that, when serious criminal cases come before the courts, some people cynically joke that the accused need only obtain a medical certificate declaring them mentally incapacitated to avoid standing trial.

This is where making independent verification standard practice becomes particularly important: it would protect the credibility of both the justice and health systems by ensuring that medical evidence affecting serious court proceedings has been properly scrutinised, leaving less room for public doubt when court outcomes appear inconsistent with community perceptions.

Standardising Medical Evidence Verification

A good standard practice would be to routinely verify any medical certificate or other medical evidence that materially affects court proceedings, while requiring an independent medical assessment or second opinion where the seriousness or circumstances of a case warrant additional scrutiny.

A second opinion from an overseas medical authority, including an appropriately qualified specialist in New Zealand, should also be considered where the consequences are particularly significant, or the necessary specialist expertise is unavailable in Tonga.

Tonga has previously relied on New Zealand medical and laboratory authorities for independent verification, including the retesting of suspected COVID-19 cases.

Although psychiatric assessments are different, this demonstrates that seeking external expertise is not unusual when additional certainty or specialist assessment is required.

Judicial Follow-Up Sets Example

The law may already allow courts to scrutinise medical certificates, but the Supreme Court’s recent decision to contact the issuing doctor directly provides a practical example of why courts should take a second look at medical evidence when it could materially affect proceedings.

Justice Paul Garlick KC recently sought clarification from a doctor about a certificate submitted during the electoral bribery case involving former Infrastructure and Tourism Minister Sēmisi Sika.

Sika requested an adjournment during cross-examination, citing fatigue. When the court reconvened, a medical certificate was submitted stating that he had returned home after feeling unwell.

As Kaniva News previously reported, Justice Garlick was concerned that the certificate did not specify Sika’s illness. A staff member claimed in court the minister had recorded high blood pressure, but the judge noted that this was not stated in the certificate.

The judge reportedly attempted to contact the issuing doctor for clarification. The proceedings ultimately continued, with Sika participating from home by Zoom.

The case did not involve a claim of mental incapacity. Nevertheless, the judge’s approach demonstrated an important principle: courts are not required to accept an unclear medical certificate without asking reasonable questions. The importance of such scrutiny extends beyond the individual case to public confidence in the justice system.

Justice Garlick’s action may not constitute a binding legal precedent, but it offers a valuable example. Tonga’s courts should adopt a consistent practice of closely examining medical evidence whenever it could determine whether an accused person remains answerable before the law.