Police Commissioner refutes he was the source of HRPP Leaders information

By Lagi Keresoma & Staff Reporters

Apia, Samoa – 10 November 2023: Police Commissioner Auapaau Logoitino Filipo has denied being the source of information publicly claimed by the HRPP leaders, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi on social media.

In a widely shared video clip, Tuilaepa and Lealailepule said that the wife of the late Member of Parliament, Vaele Iona Sekuini has admitted to the Police Commissioner that it was her husband who was responsible for the death in the unresolved hit and run incident at Vaitele in April 2021.

In the video clip, the HRPP leaders claimed that the late MP’s wife, Tupuola Mati Sekuini told the Police Commissioner that she feared for her children who were getting sick, hence the admission that it was her late husband who drove the car that killed the young student.

The HRPP leaders went as far as saying that as Vaele was an Associate Minister to Laauli they implied that Laauli had known about it all that time.

Since the incident in April 2021, the police are saying they are still looking for the car and driver of the vehicle.

Commissioner Auapaau also emphasized that nothing about him meeting Vaele’s wife to discuss what has been implied ever took place.

“O le faamatalaga foi e pei ona tuuina mai i lau imeli i le faletua o Vaele, e le fa’amaonia ona e leai se tulaga faapea na tupu,” – Auapaau.

In a previous interview with Talamua, Vaele’s wife, Tupuola Mati Vaele confirmed that she never had a conversation with the Police Commissioner and never admitted to anything.

The Commissioner did not say if there would be any charges laid against Tuilaepa and Lealailepule for fabricating information and having him as the source of such information.

Huge public interest as witness went public
Since the incident in April 2021, several people have been implicated including Lealailepule but police have not made any charges saying there is not enough evidence.

However, there had been renewed focus on the investigation when one of the witnesses investigated by the police went on social media last month and accused police of not doing their work and withholding evidence.

Samuelu Su’a detailed on social media his evidence already given to police with the emphasis on a mobile phone he used to capture the incident on the night and the person implicated.

Samuelu stated that the phone was given to the police.

Assassination attempt
Other than the unresolved hit and run incident, Samuelu Su’a also publicized that there was a conspiracy to murder two cabinet ministers and he was given a gun to carry it out and instructions of the locations where the two ministers would be.

Samuelu said he did not carry out what he was instructed to do and he later sold the gun which he said surfaced during a police raid at Vaitele close to Christmas in 2022 and is now with the police.

These latest developments had an impact on the unresolved hit and run case against huge public interest perception on the integrity of the police and the investigation.

Last month, Cabinet decided to seek the Attorney Generals advice with the view to recruit overseas investigators to investigate the unresolved hit and run incident and the alleged assassination attempt against the two cabinet ministers.

The Minister of Police and Prisons, Faualo Harry Schuster was also removed from the investigation after he revealed his conflict of interest as he is related to Lealailepule who has been implicated since April 2021.

So far, there has been no progress on Cabinets decision on using overseas investigators, however a Police Inspector has been charged and suspended for conducting his own investigation on the matter.

In a previous interview with the Deputy Police Commissioner Papalii Monalisa Tiai, she said that all information given by Samuelu Su’a was investigated but nothing had been proven.

Police Commissioner Auapaau has called on Samuelu Su’a to surrender himself to police.