Opposition MP Simione Rasova’s lawyer, Barbara Malimali, has made an application for High Court judge Justice Dr Thushara Kumarage to recuse himself from presiding over Mr Rasova’s trial.
The trial of the Social Democratic Liberal Party MP by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) was supposed to start in the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court in Suva yesterday.
FICAC commissioner Rashmi Aslam asked the court if the trial could begin on Thursday as they had come across further disclosures, and the defence had not agreed to the claim documents.
Ms Malimali said the defence did not agree that they were the correct documents as the GP8 form was a travel subsidy form and FICAC was saying that Mr Rasova had made accommodation claims.
She also said they were not contesting that Mr Rasova had received the money and that the GP8 forms were not sufficient.
Mr Aslam said the only confirmation needed to be made under law was whether Mr Rasova was living at the address he gave Parliament in the MP declaration form.
In her application for recusal, Ms Malimali said Justice Kumarage heard three case of the exact same charge, with the same witnesses except for some villagers and the accused being different.
She said the judgment of the court had been pre-empted. The recusal application will be heard today and the trial will commence at 8.30am on Thursday.
