Court
Tautua Party Leader Afualo Wood Salele convicted of bribery
The counter petition against Afualo was filed by the elected member for Salega 1, Fepulea’i Fa’asavalu Faimata that the bribery came out of a church service of 21 March 2021 at the Faia’ai Methodist Church that Afualo led.
It was the first time Afualo had led such a church service and leading his sermon said to the congregation “e faamalulu atu e le o sau e lauga faatosina,” (that he was not there for electioneering purposes).
After the church, he was hosted to Sunday to’ona’i where he was presented the talilauga of $460 tala and the usual sua and fa’atamali’i.
During to’ona’i, the Petitioner talked about the elections; the need to change the government; that the government is heavily in debt; and that his party was willing to form an alliance with other parties to bring about this change.
Before the Petitioner and his wife departed, he gave back the talilauga in the form of donations of $160 to the church minister and $300 to the church.
The court decision said it was not concerned with the Petitioner donating his talilauga back to the church minister and the church.
The elected MP for Salega 1, Fepulea’i Fa’asavalu Faimata
It was what he said or talked about prior to donating/gifting the talilauga that concerned the court.
“In the beginning of his sermon, the Petitioner said to the congregation that he was not there for electioneering purposes. The question is, why would he say that if he was there genuinely and solely for the purpose of leading a church service? Then during to’ona’i, the Petitioner spoke or talked about the elections which was 3 weeks away.”
“Although the Petitioner did not say to the people at the to’ona’i to vote for him; he spoke about his political party aligning with other parties to change the government. The fact that he is a leader of a political party and a candidate contesting the elections for Salega 1 constituency is also highly relevant.”
In its ruling, the court relied on the evidence of Tuisalega Fualau Fu’a, the 72 year old member of the church, paramount title holder of Faia’ai village and a senior lay preacher of the Methodist church.
“Tuisalega has a deep knowledge of the Samoan culture, his village and church affairs. We find no reason to doubt his evidence as to what was said by the Petitioner and what he gave during the toonai.”
“In those circumstances, we can reasonably infer that the gifting of the talilauga by the Petitioner was with the dominant motive to corruptly influence the voters at the Methodist Faia’ai to vote in his favour in the imminent general elections.
Justices Mata Tuatagaloa and Fepulea’i Ameperosa Roma found the counter petition proven against Afualo beyond reasonable doubt.
They ruled that Afualo’s petition implying bribery and treating against Fepulea’i Fa’asavalu Faimata is dismissed in its entirety as the three allegations of bribery have not been proven beyond reasonable doubt.
The security costs of $2,000 paid by the Petitioner is forfeited.
Afualo Luagalau Wood Salele has never been elected as the Tautua Party Leader. He served one term in parliament but lost in the 2016 general elections where only one Tautua member was elected. In the April 2021 general elections, he not only lost but none of his party candidates were elected.
Today’s decision means he will be disqualified as a candidate in future elections for the next ten years.
The Supreme Court today also dismissed the petition against Agaseata Valelio Tanuvasa for Aana No.3. but found the Petitioner, former MP Ili Setefano guilty of two counts of bribery.
CLICK FOR FULL DECISION: Judgment – Ili Setefano Taateo v Agaseata Valelio Tanuvasa Peto 25 June 21
