Defence lawyer for Opposition MP Niko Nawaikula, Sevuloni Valenitabua said the permanent address of an iTaukei person is where they are registered in the iVola ni Kawa Bula (VKB).
He said this while opening the defence’s case in Mr Nawaikula’s trial before High Court judge Justice Dr Thushara Kumarage in the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court in Suva yesterday.
Mr Valenitabua cited a decision of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India.
The decision said Indians were still connected to the lands of their forefathers, notwithstanding having shifted to another place for the purpose of work.
Mr Valenitabua said just like India, indigenous Fijians had permanent connections with their ancestral lands, and when Mr Nawaikula moved back to his ancestral home at Buca Village, remaining in the village fulltime proved impossible because of the lack of amenities and services.
While giving evidence, Mr Nawaikula said he moved back to his village to be with his elderly parents, to complete a house he was building, to be accessible to his voters and to open a Savusavu office for his law firm.
