Calls to oust deputy PM

A newly-formed political bloc in Vanuatu is calling on Prime Minister Charlot Salwai to sack his deputy Joe Natuman.

Mr Natuman is on a two-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to conspiring to pervert the course of justice. The charge was in relation to a bitter dispute that engulfed the police force in 2014.

Mr Natuman, as then-prime minister, ordered the then-commissioner, Aru Maralau, to stop a police team from investigating other high-ranking officers accused of mutiny.

The Vanuatu Daily Post reported the heads of five different political parties had joined forces and yesterday signed a solidarity agreement to call for Mr Natuman’s removal.