Mulitalo Siafausa Vui

Mulitalo Siafausa Vui
Minister of Communications and Information Technology
In office
24 April 2006 – 16 August 2006
Prime MinisterTuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi
Preceded byMisa Telefoni Retzlaff
Succeeded bySafuneitu'uga Pa'aga Neri
Minister of Health
In office
20 March 2001 – 24 April 2006
Preceded byMisa Telefoni Retzlaff
Succeeded byGatoloaifaana Amataga Alesana-Gidlow
Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa
In office
1996 – 20 March 2001
Member of the Samoa Parliament
for Fa'asaleleaga No. 4
In office
26 April 1996 – 16 August 2006
Preceded byVui Viliamu
Succeeded byVui Tupe Ioane
Personal details
Died21 July 2013
Tupua Tamasese Mea'ole hospital, Apia, Samoa[1]
Political partyHuman Rights Protection Party

Vaiotu Mulitalo Sealiimalietoa Siafausa Vui (1945 - 21 July 2013)[2] was a Samoan politician and Cabinet Minister.

Vui was born in Lano, Samoa and had served as Commissioner of Police.[2] He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Samoa in the 1996 election and served as Deputy Speaker.[3] He was re-elected in the 2001 election and appointed Minister of Health.[4][5] As Health Minister he established the Kidney Foundation and a local dialysis unit.[1][6] In September 2005 while Acting Prime Minister he attempted to crush strike action by local doctors by bringing in strikebreakers from New Zealand.[7] After a government inquiry into the doctors' grievances failed to recommend a pay rise, all public hospital doctors resigned.[8]

He was re-elected in the 2006 election and appointed Minister of Communications and Information Technology.[9] He was subsequently convicted of bribery and treating in an election petition brought by his defeated rival Sua Rimoni Ah Chong, and his election was declared void.[10] Vui threatened to sue the Attorney-General's office for failing to support him,[11] and encouraged the government to bring criminal charges against Ah Chong,[12] which ultimately resulted in his conviction.[13]

Vui was subsequently appointed Public Service Commissioner in October 2007.[14] In 2008 he appeared in court on charges of carrying a weapon after arming himself with a rifle during a land dispute.[15] He was eventually convicted and discharged.[16] In March 2009 he and his family were banished for life from the village of Vaimoso after bestowing a high-ranking matai title on members of his family without village permission.[17] The banishment was subsequently upheld by the lands and Titles Court.[18]

Vui ran again for the seat of Fa'asaleleaga No. 4 in the 2011 election, but was unsuccessful.[19]

In 2009 he was charged with 20 counts of indecent assault against a woman who worked for him.[20] The case was not made public as he was granted name suppression.[20] In July 2012 he was convicted on ten counts.[21][22][23] An initial sentence of a $3,000 fine was appealed,[20] and he was ultimately given a two-year suspended sentence.[24]

He died of heart failure at Tupua Tamasese Mea'ole hospital in Apia in July 2013.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Death of former health minister of Samoa". RNZ. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Passing Tributes". SPASIFIK. No. 58. 24 September 2013. p. 12. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  3. ^ "TRIAL BEGINS IN SAMOA OVER IMPROPER TITLES". Pacific Islands Report. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Misa becomes new Minister of Finance". Samoa Observer. 20 March 2001. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  5. ^ "SAMOA'S TUILAEPA SAYS HE'S SAD TO SEE TUIATUA STEP DOWN". Pacific Islands Report. 26 March 2001. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Samoa opts for independence in dialysis". RNZ. 27 July 2004. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Samoa says it wants New Zealand doctors to cover strike". RNZ. 20 September 2005. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Samoan public hospital doctors resign after unsuccessful strike". RNZ. 16 November 2005. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Five new faces in new Samoa cabinet". RNZ. 24 April 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Samoa Supreme Court declare void two parliamentary seats". RNZ. 17 August 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Former Samoa cabinet minister considering sueing attorney-general's office". RNZ. 18 August 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Samoa's Mulitalo wants criminal charges laid after election petition defeat". RNZ. 18 August 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Former government minister in Samoa hails court case victory". RNZ. 28 September 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Annual Report 2012-13" (PDF). Office of the Samoa Public Service Commission. 30 January 2015. p. 13. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  15. ^ "Former Samoan minister in court for carrying weapon". RNZ. 12 November 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Former Samoa MP found guilty of one count of possession of a firearm". RNZ. 20 April 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  17. ^ "Samoa's former broadcasting minister banished for life". RNZ. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Court in Samoa orders former politician to leave village". RNZ. 6 April 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  19. ^ "TC No. 26 –Faasaleleaga Nu 4". Office of the Electoral Commissioner. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  20. ^ a b c "Former Samoa Minister Mulitalo Given Additional Sentence". Pacific Islands Report. 27 November 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  21. ^ "Samoa court finds former cabinet minister guilty of indecent acts". RNZ. 20 July 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  22. ^ "Former Samoa Minister Convicted Of Indecency". Pacific islands Report. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  23. ^ "Order lifted, ex-Minister guilty of indecent assault". Samoa News. 21 July 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  24. ^ "Former Samoa Cabinet Minister Gets Suspended Sentence". Pacific Islands Report. 24 December 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2021.