Court grants warrant of arrest of sports administrator after non appearance

Staff Reporters/

Apia, SAMOA – 17 April 2024 – The District Court has granted a warrant of arrest against the former president of the Samoa Triathlon Federation, Mr Afoa Seti Afoa for non-appearance in court yesterday.

Afoa faces two charges of obtaining by deception and attempt to obtain by deception brought by two members of the Federation following a long drawn and unresolved dispute over the federation’s governance.

A statement from the complainants, Darren and Lani Young said, “We are disappointed that Mr Afoa has refused to attend and begin the process of answering the charges against him. A person is innocent until proven guilty, and we trust in our country’s justice system to resolve the matter.”

They also state that they hope their case will push the need for better sports governance.

“Because we are athletes and we care about transparency, accountability and the proper financial management of our sport. We do this because we care about the next generation of athletes coming through.

“We know cycling is not the only sport in Samoa struggling with these issues. We hope this case can shine a light on the need for better sports governance, and the ways we all can better advocate for Samoa’s athletes,” they said in a statement.