One person is dead following a crash involving a single vehicle on the road near Leimatu’a August 19.
Vava’u Police superintendent Netane Falakiseni said this evening details of the incident would be made available to us tomorrow. More to follow….
Police in Long Beach, Los Angeles, have arrested a man they believe murdered the 60-year-old Tongan Vaiola Vaipulu early this month.
Patrick Fereti Mose , 25, of Long Beach was arrested on Monday as a suspect after Police investigated a surveillance video.
According to Long Beach’s Press Telegram, Mose is being held at Long Beach City Jail on $1 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday.
The body of the victim was found at about 7 a.m. Aug. 2 inside a home in the 6700 block of Olive Avenue in Long Beach. The Los Angeles County Coroner determined the woman’s death to have been suspicious.
The surveillance video also helped police to identify a vehicle believed to have been used during the murdering, it was reported.
Police investigation is ongoing and anyone who may have relevant information is asked to call homicide detectives Todd Johnson and Shea Robertson at 562-570-7244.
The ‘Ikale Tahi selectors have named 30 players for the Rugby World Cup 2015.
The squad, which will be captained by 33-year-old ‘Ikale Tahi captain Nili Latu at his third Rugby World Cup, is made up of 17 forwards and 13 backs, and with Tonga’s 91 years of rugby regional and international test matches since 1924, is the most experienced Ikale Tahi squad ever assembled.
Tonga will face Georgia, Namibia, Argentina and New Zealand in Pool C during the Rugby World Cup which will be held in England from September 18 to October 31.
Forwards:
Tevita Mailau (Perpignan), Alisona Taumalolo (Grenoble), Soane Tonga’uiha (Oyonnax), Halani Aulika (London Irish), Sila Puafisi (Gloucester), Elvis Taione (Exeter Chiefs), Paula Ngauamo (Mont de Marson), Aleki Lutui (Ampthill RFC), Tukulua Lokotui (Beziers), Joeseph Tiuneau (Dax), Steve Mafi (Western Force), Opeti Fonua (Leicester Tigers), Hala T-Pole (Otago), Nili Latu (Newcastle Falcons), Jack Ram (Auckland Blues), Viliami Ma’afu (Oyonnax), Sione Kalamafoni (Gloucester)
Backs:
Sonatane Takulua (Newcastle Falcons), Samisoni Fisilau (Jersey RFC), Sosefo Ma’ake (Havelu Bulldogs), Kurt Morath (Biarritz), Latiume Fosita (Doncaster), Sione Piukala (Perpignan), Siale Piutau (Yamaha), Viliami Tahitu’a (Northland), Fetu’u Vainikolo (Oyonnax), Telusa Veainu (Melbourne Rebels), Tevita Halaifonua (Gloucester), William Helu (Edinburgh), Vungakoto Lilo (Montauban)
The Speaker of Parliament repeatedly warned Hon. ‘Etuate Lavulavu this morning after the Minister used threatening language against him and called him a dictator.
Hon. Lavulavu, the MP for Vava’u 16 was furious when he learned a motion of impeachment motion against him was to be read in the House.
The motion accuses him, in part, of misusing his position as Minister of Infrastructure.
Hon. Lavulavu accused his fellow Vava’u MPs of being behind the impeachment.
He reacted angrily when the Speaker repeatedly warned him to sit down.
He threatened to impeach the Speaker for not allowing him to respond to his accusations.
The Speaker, Lord Tu’ivakano, told Hon. Lavulavu he could not be given the opportunity to respond to his impeachment because the matter was being referred for further consideration by the Privilege Standing Committee.
The Speaker told Hon. Lavulavu the Privilege Committee would assess the impeachment motion to see whether or not there was sufficient evidence to allow it to be placed before the House for deliberation.
Lord Tu’ivakano said the procedure was fair.
If the Committee, which was made up of capable members, validated the impeachment, then Hon. Lavulavu would be given the opportunity to respond when the impeachment was returned to the House.
Only part of the impeachment was read in the House this morning in accordance with the House rulings.
It alleged Hon. Lavulavu had misused his role as minister and mismanaged government possessions. He has denied the accusations.
The impeachment was submitted to the House by the Vava’u Member of the Nobles, Lord Tu’ilakepa.
Hon. Lavulavu apologised to the House when members returned for the second part of today’s sitting of Parliament after the lunch break.
Hon Lavulavu said he had behaved as he did because he wanted his side of the impeachment to be heard in public.
The tension in the House this morning led the Speaker to remind the House of the protocols and the House rulings, saying he had the power to order an MP out of the House if he disobeyed his order.
Today was the House’s first session after it returned from its mid-year recess, which began in June.
The main points
For more information
A Real Tonga Airline plane without passengers suffered blown tyres when it landed safely at ‘Eua Airport last Saturday.
The Y2 aircraft had just touched down at Kaufana Airport when the tyres burst.
Real Tonga Airline did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
However the Director Tevita Palu told local media the company was working on a report about the incident before it would be submitted to the Ministry.
The Minister of Civil Aviation Hon ‘Etuate Lavulavu was reported as saying he was concerned about the safety of the people as he believed this was not the first time such mechanical breakdown happened.
Of all Tonga’s four main islands including the Niuas, Vavaʻu and Haʻapai, the island of ‘Eua came up with an interesting idea at this year’s Royal Agricultural Show.
It was a vegetable art which portrayed the kupesi manulua or the manulua motif.
Vegetable art is commonly seen at flea markets and celebrations tables which mainly aimed to make the activities as much as beautiful, enjoyable and attractive as they get.
However at last week’s ʻEua Royal Agricultural Show the art, believed to have been displayed at the Hango Agricultural College’s shelter, exceptionally attracted a number of visitors and audience.
Some people took to Facebook and made comments on photos of the art such as, mālie means splendid or tō atu means fantastic.
Manulua is probably Tonga’s oldest kupesi and it sybolises two birds which stand for an omen of good luck.
Tapa cloths that feature manulua prominently used in funeral and wedding.
The Royal Agricultural Show
The show, which is normally attended by the king, is an annual national exhibition organized by the Ministry of MAFF to promote famers, growers, fishers and businesses’ products to the public and potential buyers.
Programme 2015
August 5 – Niuatoputapu
August 6 – Niuafo’ou
August 8 – Vava’u
August 12 – Ha’apai
August 14 – Eua
August 21 – 22 – Tongatapu
The row between Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva’s media adviser Kalafi Moala and his Finance Minister over the Forbes scandal has blown up, with both men pointing the finger of blame at each other.
And now Moala claims he has proof of the Finance Minister’s involvement in a series of leaked e-mails.
Moala, who is editor of  Taimi-‘O-Tonga newspaper, has lashed out at Dr ‘Aisake Eke, saying he was not telling the truth, made an imprudent decision and of “falsely accusing†the Prime Minister when he said earlier this week that Hon. Pohiva knew the interview would be paid for before his Finance Ministry was made aware of it.
However, Finance Minister Dr ‘Aisake Eke has hit back and claimed Moala has wrongly accused him and breached his contract agreement with government to keep to ethics and professional standard of his performance.
The row stems from revelations that the Tongan government agreed to pay the prestigious American business magazine nearly a quarter of a million pa’anga for an interview and a two page spread on the kingdom. Two journalists from Forbes interviewed the Prime Minister earlier this year.
This kind of arrangement for paid editorial content for promotional purposes is not unusual. However, the leaked e-mails make it clear that for whatever reason, nobody in the government seems to have realised that any money would be involved, even though the people they were dealing with produced advertising supplements.
You can find a link to the Forbes article at the bottom of this story.
Dr Eke said he still fully supported the Prime Minister and was not making any accusations against him over the Forbes saga.
Dr Eke claimed Moala had a possible personal agenda to break up the government.
Moala made his statements about Dr Eke in response to comments Dr Eke made yesterday. The Minister said he was not an appropriate person to advise the Prime Minister and alleged he had misrepresented Dr Eke’s involvement with Forbes scandal.
The Finance Minister insisted that he was not aware that the interview would be paid for until the Prime Minister was interviewed.
Dr Eke said his statement, which was released yesterday, was mainly aimed at Moala. He said the newspaper publisher had scandalised the government by creating an “unnecessary problem†after disseminating misguided information about the government.
Dr Eke claimed Moala had abused his duty as a civil servant by releasing misinformation to demonise the government, even though he was paid by the government and from tax payers’ money.
Moala argued the Minister of Finance must take responsibility for his actions.
He said Dr Eke’s accusations were “reckless†and he was trying to shift the blame for the Forbes ordeal and he also demonstrated a serious failure to be transparent.
Moala said he did not think the Forbes article would benefit the kingdom.
Dr Eke said Moala had breached his contract with government by circulating wrong information which was not authorised by the Prime Minister’s Office or the government.
Moala told Kaniva News the statement he released regarding the Forbes debacle was his and was not referred to the Prime Minister’s Office because they would not approve it.
He published the article in Taimi-‘O-Tonga.
Dr Eke said if Moala followed the right procedure he might have been corrected by the Office.
Dr Eke said Moala had recently made a mistake in one of the Prime Minister’s Office press releases.
In a press release confirming the government would host the Pacific Games in 2019 earlier this month, Moala published that the government had agreed to a two cent charge on foreign exchange currency to help fund the Games.
However, the charge was supposed to be one cent and when Moala was asked where he got his information from he cited Matangi Tonga Online.
The press release was taken down and a technical error was blamed. A revised press release with the correct information was posted on August 5.
Dr Eke said Moala was wrong when he insisted that the Ministry of Finance organised the Forbes interview and its payment.
Dr Eke said Cabinet approved the payment to the magazine.
He asked why Moala did not check with the Cabinet staff about the decision.
Conflict of interest
Dr Eke said Moala’s role as the Prime Minister’s media adviser conflicted with his work as owner of a newspaper and radio broadcasting station.
“My question is where is the ethics and professional standard of journalism when Kalafi is doing his role in government while at the same time he is making money from the news in his newspaper and radio?,†Dr Eke said.
Dr Eke said the Prime Minister had told the House in June that he knew there were criticisms about the payment and claims that it was a waste of money.
According to Tonga’s Legislative Assembly’s minute number 26 Â June, 23, Â 2015, Hon. Pohiva apologised to the House, saying if the amount was too much there would be a way to recover it.
Moala has provided copies of what he claims are e-mails between the government ministries and the Forbes officials to Kaniva News.
Moala claims the e-mails show the Finance Minister was solely responsible for organising the interview and how it was to be paid before the Prime Minister was informed.
Kaniva News publishes the following documents purely as a matter of public interest.
E-mails timeline
Saturday, 31 January 2015 7:17 AM
An e-mail was sent by Eduardo Magaña, Senior Features Director of Forbes Custom Magazine to Ms Tupou Sisilia Tonga, the Senior Assistant Secretary/Policy Support Division and cc’d to Former Interim Chief Secretary ‘Aholotu Palu and other senior officers in government.
In the e-mail, Magaña said he “will be travelling to Tonga, to land on the 9th of February.  I have been in touch with the Office of the Prime Minister and they will be providing with a confirmation letter as I will be meeting with the Prime Minister, therefore I copy Tupou Tonga as she has been kind enough to organise the meeting and will be providing the confirmation letter.
February 2, 2015 4:50 PM
On February 2 Ms Tonga e-mailed Wesley Nam , the Director of Forbes Custom and asked him to confirm whether or not Eduardo Magaña Otega and Ms Sheila O’Callaghan were Forbes representatives. Ms Tupou also asked Nam to confirm if the request for the interview with the Prime Minister was genuine.
February 3, 2015 1:57 PM
On February 3, 2015 an e-mail from Ms Tonga was sent to Tonga’s Secretary For Foreign Affairs & Trade and cc’d to ‘Aholotu Palu and other senior officers in government.
In the e-mail Ms Tupou confirmed the request by Forbes representative Edward Magaña on January 31 was approved and to be done on February 9, 2015.
Tupou told the secretary the Forbes Representative claimed they were from Forbes Magazine.
“We would appreciate any other information that the San Francisco Consulate Office or New York Mission Office might be able to provide on Forbes CM&Sâ€, Tupou said in her e-mail.
February 4, 2015 3:50 AM
On February 4, 2015 a response from Wesley Nam was e-mailed to Ms Tupou. Apparently the e-mail was cc’d to other Forbes officials according to names on the email cc panel.
In the e-mail, Nam said:  “I can confirm that Forbes Custom Magazines & Sections (Impact Media) is a legitimate and trusted partner of Forbes Media. They promote and produce country economic development and investment-themed special advertising sections that appear in Forbes magazine.â€
March 3, 2015 3:39 PM
On March 3, 2015, an e-mail was sent from Ms Tonga to Sasinita Tapueluelu, an accountant at the Ministry of Finance and National Planning and was cc’d to ‘Aholotu Palu and others in the government.
In the e-mail, Ms Tupou told Tapueluelu the Prime Minister’s Office had not been  aware that the interview with the Hon. Pohiva would be paid for until she raised the matter it in her e-mail.
March 7, 2015
On March 7, 2015, a senior officer from the Prime Minister’s Office on behalf of the Chief Secretary and Secretary to Cabinet (CSSC) contacted Magaña.
The e-mail reads: “We are concerned and disappointed that you have sent an invoice to the Ministry of Finance for the payment of the transcript for the interview with the Hon. Prime Minister…. From the outset of our email communications up to the interview you never mentioned any costs or charges for the interview. You had stated in your request letter and in the interview that you chose Tonga because of the election of the new Prime Minister and the Coronation in July. You had asked for an interview not an advert as stated in your invoice.
“We are not prepared to pay such a significant amount for two pages in a publication. You may have wasted our time and the Hon Prime Minister’s time with your misleading request for an interview.
“I have copied in the PA (Personal Assistant) to the PM and the Press secretary who confirmed that there was no mention of any costs at the interview and they were also surprised at the mention of the invoice.â€
March 9, 2015
In reply on March 9, 2015, the other journalist wrote:
“In my experience we rarely discuss pricing with a head of state as it is not his field.  However, we always discuss it with the Minister of Finance or Economy on direction from the Prime Minister or President.  I am sure the Minister of Finance, Mr. Eke must have told the Prime Minister of his decision to conclude the agreement with us.â€
Signed: Sheila O’Callaghan, Managing Director, Forbes Custom Magazines and Sections.
Editor’s Comment
We published the e-mails above to help readers understand some of the facts surrounding the debacles over the Forbes interview. The e-mails were sent to us by Kalafi Moala at our request, but they were not forwarded in their original e-mail formats. We were unable to get confirmations of their authenticity from the senders and recipients of the e-mails so we chose not to publish the original we received from Kalafi.
It is apparent more e-mails must have been sent and received during the communication in relation to the Forbes interview, but we did not have them and they are not in the above e-mails. I cannot therefore say that the e-mails above and the contract signed by the Ministry on February 13, two days after the Prime Minister was interviewed, confirmed the Minister of Finance was responsible. It is impossible to determine responsibility at this stage because there are still a lot of pieces missing from the puzzle as we do not have all the related communication information.
You can read the  contract agreement between Forbes and the Tongan government, here
The Prime Minister’s Office should come clean on this issue and release all communications and contacts made before, during and after the Forbes interview to the media as soon as possible so they can be made available to the public. If not, the row between the Finance Minister and the Prime Minister’s media adviser will only embarrass the government of Hon. Pohiva.
The main points
For more information
You can read the Forbes article, ‘Tonga: The Beginning of Excellence,’ here:
By courtesy of: Â Todd Henry
Ever since my first visit to Tonga in 2007, I have noticed an ever growing population of American accented and often heavily tattooed residents that appear to have just arrived in the islands from places such as inner-city Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, or Dallas. Â In fact, these places are where many of them actually did come from before being sent back to Tonga as the result of their own criminal convictions.
These deportees make up a subculture of sorts within Tongan society, and the way of life they grew accustomed to in the United States, or other large industrialised nations, is in stark contrast to the way of life that is customary in the islands. Â The vast majority of deportees that I have met in Tonga were deported from the US, and while I have heard about some who were deported from places such as New Zealand or Australia, I have yet to meet them face to face. Â The fact that so many have been deported from the US when compared to other locations where large populations of the Tongan diaspora reside is both compelling and concerning at the same time.
Despite being born in Tonga, the deportees live almost as if they are exiles in their own land.  Many were raised in the US from a very young age after emigrating with their parents or other family members, and they may not have any recollection of life in Tonga before moving abroad.  Many of the deportees identify as being American, which they are in terms of their overall appearance and conduct, but not in terms of legality.  Their chances of ever being permitted back into the US are very slim, and those who realise this are generally able to at least partially integrate back into Tongan society through learning the language, culture, and utilising existing family connections.  Other deportees, however, choose to continue on the very path that got them sent back to Tonga in the first place, and inevitably find themselves in and out of the Tongan prison system as a result.
On my most recent trip to Tonga I met a man named Sione Ngaue. Â He is an American deportee who now resides on his family land in the village of Nukunuku on the island of Tongatapu. Â Despite his history, Sione is an example of a deportee success story. Â He has managed to start a new family back in Tonga, and he works as a freelance artist and tattooer, specialising in traditional Tongan designs.
I cycled out to Nukunuku from Nuku’alofa one afternoon to visit Sione in his traditional Tongan fale, which is one of the few left standing in Tonga. We talked at length about his own personal experience of being deported from the US, and about his new life in the Kingdom of Tonga.
The following is a transcript of our conversation recorded on July 14th, 2015:
Todd:Â What is your name and when did you get deported back to Tonga from the United States?
Sione: My name is Sione Kihe Kai Ngaue, and I got deported from America to Tonga in 2008.
Do you want to talk about why you got deported?
There were several things that led up to it, but in the end it was vehicular manslaughter.
What was the deportation process itself like? How did you first find out that you were going to be deported?
You usually know that you are going to be deported when you are like a year into the system, your prison term you pretty much know the warrants you have and things like that, you know you have an INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) hold real early. So when you are doing your time you know that you’re going to get deported.
So you serve the whole sentence and then you go?
That’s the way it is. Everybody who gets deported has to serve their time in America before they are deported.
How does the process of actually being deported go, do officials actually escort you?
Yes, you get out of prison and when you come out the gates you have INS officers waiting for you, you know, with cuffs again. So you come out of cuffs, to get put on cuffs. You know, they take the state cuffs off, and the feds put their cuffs on you and put you in their bus. So you go through the process all over again with the INS, but the one thing good about INS is that you know the longest you’re going to be there is three months and you will be sent home.
So do they fly with you on the plane?
They have to escort you, they make sure. The judge tells you, “you will be escortedâ€. Especially if you have a heavy record. Some have a lesser record only get escorted by one (INS official), and some will even get escorted by three. I was escorted by two, my older brother was escorted by three.
When you land in the destination airport, do they just take the handcuffs off of you and you go?
There is no cuffs on the plane, it’s against federal law and international law. You just give them your word and they’re like “I’m taking you homeâ€, if you try anything you will go back to prison in the US and you will never get out. Behave and you will go home.
So when you land in Tonga, then do they have to release you over to the Tongan police?
No, if I wanted to I could have just walked off but I hung around the airport immigration for a minute and the guy told me that he saw me get off with those guys. Actually when we went through New Zealand they (the INS officials) bought me duty-free two bottles of whiskey and two cartons of cigarettes. Them guys, they were happy that I was a good guy, you know? I was happy to go home.
So did you have any family in Tonga when you arrived back after being deported?
I didn’t have a visitor for the thirteen and a half years I served, so I didn’t let anybody know that I was getting deported. I got out of the airport and I walked all the way home, my Mom was here, and my brother but they didn’t know. It was just all of a sudden, and here I am.
How old were you when you originally left Tonga for the US?
I left when I was four.
So in your mind you were American?
Yes.
What was it like essentially being an American by all accounts minus the legal side of things, and then having to integrate back into Tongan society? Was it a hard transition?
It wasn’t as hard for me as it is for some other deportees because I had family here already. I can speak for some of my deportee brothers and sisters who get sent down here, and who don’t have family. They have a harder transition. I had family here at the time when I got here.
Did you speak the Tongan language at that time?
Very little, very little. I could pass, just barely make it through. It wasn’t until I had been here for like six years that my Tongan really evolved.
Do you think that some of the deportees who are sent back try to continue with the gang lifestyle in Tonga that they left behind in the US?
Yes, a lot of them. Dozens. And they are now in the Tongan prison system, you know. Right out of the US system, and they didn’t learn. Coming with the same lifestyle from the US to Tonga, you can’t do that. Tonga is laid back slow man, you gotta go with it. You gotta go slow here.
How many deportees from the US would you estimate are here in Tonga?
Man…hundreds. I think there are over 400. I don’t think it’s reached the thousands, but when I was here there was like 300 or 400 from the US alone. That was six years ago.
Is there a reintegration program, or other support network for deportees when they arrive back in Tonga?
No, the worst part is that the ones that come from America, out of that system and they do long terms, you know ten years, 15 years. And they were taking some kind of psychological medication and then they sent them here to Tonga without it. When I came to Tonga, all I had was a picture ID, a passport. It was a piece of paper, that was my passport they brought me with. So I didn’t have any kind of medications or anything. A lot of these deportees, they’ve been on medication for all their lives and they get down here and just kind of let loose and that’s where they roam around going crazy. Tongan society ain’t gonna help them too much. People here won’t know what’s wrong with them to help them.
With all the deportees coming from the US who have essentially no support network in Tonga, are they essentially reforming the same gangs here?
It’s basically not like that anymore, I think it’s more like a of a single-man game. You know, you come down here, you start your little crew of three or four people and you do whatever you do to survive. Like I said before, they haven’t figured it out so a majority of them are in Tolitoli prison now.
I have been seeing TCG (Tongan Crips Gang) graffiti around, is that something that is currently active here?
It is, it is active in Tonga, but they really don’t know what they meaning of TCG is. You know, a lot of the local kids are getting involved in the painting and stuff on the wall but they don’t know the concept behind it for real. That’s the good part.
If you were given the opportunity, would you go back to the US tomorrow?
No, I wouldn’t. I would never go to the US, never again in my life do I want to see the US. I’m not angry, and I don’t have anything bad to say about it. I am the pilot of my own plane, you know. I have lived it, and I know America but I love Tonga. I love not having money and things like that, it makes me who I am and it’s no big deal.
Can you explain what you do now to survive here in Tonga?
As you know, I was incarcerated for thirteen and a half years and within that time I tightened up my artistic skills and I am a tattoo artist. I am slowly getting into paintings and everything else. I believe that when a man tells himself that he is a professional or a master in something, he ceases to learn more so I am an apprentice and I will be an apprentice until I die. This is what I do, I am a freehand tattoo artist. Always learning.
Is there anything at all that you could say you miss about the US?
The only thing I miss is a greasy cheeseburger, you know. That’s basically it. And it miss my brothers that are incarcerated right now, but they are still alive. That’s it. Other than that it’s all good.
Thanks for taking the time to talk today Sione. Is there anything else you would like to say about life in Tonga?
Life in Tonga is about one love, that’s it. That’s it. Laid back. If you ain’t got funds here, it’s not the end of the world. We eat coconuts, bananas, and papayas all for free. That’s what we say, ofa atu!
Malo Sione! Ofa Atu
Tonga’s Ministry of Health has issued an alert about typhoid fever in the kingdom but did not say whether or not any cases of typhoid were diagnosed.
According to a report by Radio FM87.5 this afternoon a restriction on social activities and movements of locals has been declared at the town of Vaini so that medical officers could be able to medically sort out the infectious disease in the community.
The students of Beulah College boarding school, situated at Vaini, have been sent home to their families amid fears of an outbreak, the radio reported.
The principal of the school Mele Vaihola was reported as saying students were sent home as they thought that might be safer for them.
Dr Seini Kupu, a Senior Medical Officer at Vaiola Hospital, was reported by the radio as saying the ministry was facing a big challenge when there was typhoid outbreak.
Typhoid fever is an infection that causes diarrhea and a rash. It is most commonly due to a type of bacterium called Salmonella typhi. Typhi is spread through contaminated food, drink, or water.
The Tokaikolo Church in Tonga has opened a new university in Nukuʻalofa today known as Christ’s University in Pacific.
The new Christian campus is operated at the church’s Maseia Plaza building.
It was previously named as Lavengamalie Christian University (USA) after it was first established in Palo Alto, USA in 2003.
“The mission of the university is to provide a tertiary education program with a Christian world-view which will equip students for future Christian service”.
The founder is president of the church, Rev. Dr Liufau Vailea Saulala and CUP is a division of Tokaikolo Education System with a history of 36 years since it was first established in 1979.
The word “Tokaikolo” was coined from the Bible, “The Lord is in your midst” (Zephaniah 3:15).
