Court finds 27 Falealii 1 defendants guilty and fined $10,300

By Lagi Keresoma/

Apia, SAMOA – 16 July 2026 – Of the 51 defendants in the Falealili 1 contempt of court case, 27 have been found guilty and ordered to pay a total of $10,300 tala to the Ministry of Justice & Courts Administration.

One of the defendants, Faamotuletia Seu Tafatafa was also found guilty but was not fined due her health.

Of the 27 found guilty, 17 have been fined $500 and 9 to pay $200 each, bringing the total fine to be paid by 12 August to $10,300.

The charges against 23 other defendants were dismissed on the lack of evidence, one defendant has since passed, one was not served and one did not appear.

Background of the charges
In September 2025, Tuiloma Laniselota Lameko, an unsuccessful candidate in the Falealili 1 seat in the 2025 general election filed a petition against the winning candidate Toelupe Poumulinuku Onesemo.

In October, both parties decided to settle their matter and agreed to withdraw the petition and counter petition by Toelupe. However, the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) intervened and wanted to be a party to the matter and filed a motion of criminal activities between Tuiloma and Toelupe.

The court accepted HRPP and the hearing proceeded.

Witnesses were called but only one appeared and the court with the assistance of the Attorney Generals Office and police started a campaign to find the witnesses.

Summons, warrants of arrest and later subpoenas were issued to all the witnesses in November and December 2025, but still no appearance.

When the witnesses were finally located, they gave different reasons for not turning up to give evidence in court and each was charged with contempt of court.

The reasons for their non-appearance
The witnesses gave different reasons for their non-appearances that included:

• they forgot the date of the hearing,
• some attended funerals on the day they were supposed to give evidence,
• medical check-ups,
• Others were told by either Sagaga Failala Pua and Seufaleupolu Aperila that the matter had been resolved and there was no case.

The court accepted some of the reasons given but not convinced by the circumstances surrounding other reasons.

Deliberate actions against the court
One of the defendants, a former Member of Parliament for Falealili 1 Aumua Isaia Lameko and the brother of the complainant, Tuiloma Laniselota Lameko, did not appear on the date he was supposed to give evidence.

He told the court that he did plan to appear but was not feeling well so went to the hospital. He has been a dialysis patient for 2 years.

However, after the court perused the evidence provided by Aumua and Dr. Ben Matalavea, the court concluded that Aumua was not telling the truth.

“Aumua deliberately decided not to attend court and used his medical condition as a pretext to join the other respondents who decided not to comply with the courts summons,” said the Court.

The court also found Iulieta Elu Talaapitaga guilty when she deliberately told the court her mother was sick on the day she was to attend the court.

Sagaga & Aperila actions referred for further investigation
The court raised concern over the alleged actions of Sagaga and Aperila non-appearances as witnesses in the petition.

Both were not party to the contempt of court matter but according to the court, both could have been part of the proceedings so they could be heard.

The court believes that if there is substance in what has been alleged by the defendants of Sagaga and Aperila’s actions, then it is the matter more appropriate for a criminal proceeding.

The Court ordered for a copy of the decision to be directed to the Attorney General’s Office.

“The Court considers that it is the public interest that any decision to investigate and if appropriate to prosecute Sagaga and Aperila, be considered by an independent prosecutor.”