Suliano Matanitobua

Ratu Suliano Matanitobua is a Fijian chief, politician, and former member of the Parliament of Fiji. In 2022 he was imprisoned for corruption. He is a member of the Social Democratic Liberal Party.

Ratu Suliano Matanitobua
Matanitobua in 2016
Member of the Fijian Parliament for SODELPA List
In office 17 September 2014 – 13 July 2022
Member of Parliament for Namosi
In office September 2001 – 4 December 2006
Preceded by	Atonio Tanaburenisau
Succeeded by	None (Parliament disestablished)
Personal details
Political party	Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua Social Democratic Liberal Party

Matanitobua holds the chiefly title of Tui Namosi, to which he was installed in 1999, replacing his father, Ratu Saloon Matanitobua.^[1] He first participated in the Great Council of Chiefs in 1989, at the age of 22.^[1] He was appointed as Associate Minister of Fijian Affairs to the interim Cabinet formed by Laisenia Qarase in the wake of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état.^[2]

In the 2001 parliamentary election, Matanitobua won the Namosi Fijian Communal Constituency for the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL), taking 85.5 percent of the vote. In the 2006 election, he held the seat by an even larger majority. He was removed from parliament by the 2006 Fijian coup d'état. In 2009 he announced that his district would support the coup regime.^[3]

Matanitobua was elected as a SOELPA candidate in the 2014 elections, the first since the 2006 coup. During the election campaign he was criticised by the Fijian military for saying that his constituents took precedence over his military uniform.^[4] In opposition he served as Shadow Minister for Youth and Sports.^[5] He was re-elected in the 2018 election,^[6] winning 3,279 votes.

On 6 July 2022 he was convicted of providing false information to a public servant and obtaining a pecuniary advantage.^[7] He was immediately stripped of his seat in parliament.^[8] In August 2022 he was sentenced to three years imprisonment.^[9][10]

References

1. Summary of world broadcasts: Asia, Pacific, Issues 3881–3893 (BBC 2000)
2. "Fiji president reappoints Qarase as PM". New Zealand Herald. 28 July 2000. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
3. VASITI RITOVA (30 October 2009). "RATU SULIANO BREAKS SILENCE". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
4. "Fiji Army Severs Ties With Namosi Chief". Pacific Islands Report. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
5. Losirene Lacanivalu (13 September 2017). "Ratu Suliano Reflects on Role of Past Leaders". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
6. Talebula Kate (18 November 2018). "2018 General Election: SODELPA secures 21 seats". Fiji Times. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
7. Ashna Kumar (6 July 2022). "Tui Namosi Found Guilty on Corruption Charges". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
8. "Ruling On The Issue Of The Vacant Seat Of The Hon. Ratu Suliano Matanitobua". Fiji Sun. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
9. "Former Fiji MP jailed for corruption". RNZ. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
10. Ashna Kumar (15 August 2022). "26 Months In Jail For Tui Namosi And Convicted Former Member Of Parliament Ratu Suliano Matanitobua". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 26 December 2022. Matanitobua has been handed a sentence of 36 months imprisonment. Out of 36 months, 26 months is ordered to be served effective immediately