“An Attempt To Shut Me Up” Tuilaepa Speaks Out After Arrest

Kaya Selby
RNZ Pacific journalist

Samoa’s Leader of the
Opposition says the government are trying to silence him,
after he was arrested yesterday afternoon on defamation
charges against the Prime Minister.

Samoa Police told
RNZ Pacific that Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi was held in
remand for 24 hours, before being released this
morning.

Tuilaepa, who was Samoa’s Prime Minister for
21 years, told RNZ Pacific that this was an attempt by the
state “to shut me up.”

“They are feeling very
embarrassed with my responses on issues raised by the
media,” he said.

“The reality of the leaks from
(within) the government…. they have broken the law many
times.”

In April, Prime Minister La’auli Schmidt took
Tuilaepa to court after the opposition leader made comments
on social media accusing him and other ministers of misusing
government money for personal and family
expenditure.

Tuilaepa was ordered not to make these
kinds of comments any longer, but at a press conference
yesterday, he raised them again.

“I expressed my views
on issues which the media had already reported,” he
said.

“I made my comments in accordance with my own
belief that the court had given me the opportunity to
continue to practice my right as the Leader of the
Opposition.”

Tuilaepa has now doubled down, claiming
that money given to Samoa by New Zealand as restitution for
the HMNZS Manawanui sinking was used to for the benefit
rival FAST Party candidates in two Safata by-elections
earlier this year.

“The money came for over a year,
and the government withheld that money until the election
period, and then distributed it out,” he
said.

“Independent candidates could not stand a
chance, and the government was in the forefront of promoting
the distribution of this money to bribe the
voters.”

He added that there is an active court case
on the matter.

RNZ Pacific has sought comment from the
government over the
claims.

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