Fiji's suspended chief prosecutor, New Zealander Christopher Pryde Photo: Christopher Pryde
Fiji's chief prosecutor claims the President's suspension of his FJ$250,000 (approximately NZ$184,000) salary is illegal and unjustified.
Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu stopped Christopher Pryde's pay and benefits over two weeks ago after a public backlash about his absence from office.
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka called out the director of public prosecutions last month for failing to turn up for work for almost seven months after he was reinstated in January.
Pryde - living in self-imposed exile in Aotearoa - told RNZ Pacific the suspension was unlawful.
"I am still the director of public prosecutions, the suspension of my salary is in breach of my contract and illegal under the Constitutution," he said.
On Monday Pryde released a copy of the President's letter, claiming "excerpts" from it previously run by local media were "false and defamatory".
The crux of Ratu Naiqama's argument is that the 60-year-old was meant to resume work on 20 January, after a Tribunal exonerated him from a "misbehaviour" charge.
Two days later he was hit with corruption charges, and the Judicial Services Commission extended his reporting date until 9 May.
"I understand you failed to do so....and were still on full pay while not working. You have breached clause 1 of your 4 September Service Agreement," the President wrote.
"Pursuant to section 117(5) of the constitution, and acting upon the recommendation of the JSC, after having consulted the acting Attorney-General, your salary and other benefits are suspended forthwith until further notice."
The decision came just before Fiji's anti-corruption agency (FICAC) announced plans last week to extradite Pryde on corruption charges.
Pryde told RNZ Pacific that the President's decision was "unlawful, since the Constitution does not permit the suspension of my salary".
Pryde, hired during the reign of convicted former president Frank Bainimarama, claims they are "bogus" and designed to intimidate and get rid of him.
He believes the Fijian government wants to stop him prosecuting those maligned in a Commission of Inquiry report into the former head of the agency.
Pryde wrote a lengthy response to the president on 4 August, and said his decision was unconstitutional and "legally flawed".
"The suspension is arbitrary and a clear breach of natural justice, particularly in the absence of a formal suspension," he wrote.
"It is clear to me that you received and acted upon wrong legal advice on this issue.
"The decision by the JSC to recommend to you the suspension of my salary whilst at the same time refusing to deal with the complaints against me demonstrates malice by members of the JSC.... and is an attempt to intimidate me into resigning my position."
Pryde said the JSC had an obligation to address the corruption charges he was facing, by either dismissing them or establishing a Tribunal to formally investigate the complaints.
He said the JSC was the only legally-mandated commission to determine complaints against him and could not delegate this function to FICAC.
Pryde, who lives in Christchurch, said he had already explained his absence from the job in a statement on 24 July.
"As outlined in my previous statement (11 April 2025), I remain ready to return to work as soon as the JSC and FICAC have concluded their investigations into further allegations against me, raised by the acting DPP, Nancy Tikoisuva, just prior to my intended resumption of duties in Fiji.
"I need an assurance from the JSC that these allegations will not result in a sudden suspension from office and a cutting off of my salary, as happened last time," he wrote.
"I also need an assurance that I will not be arbitrarily arrested upon my return to Fiji and served with a stop departure notice.
"I can only speculate that the reason for the unconscionable delay in making any decision on these fresh charges against me is a deliberate ploy to ensure I remain outside Fiji and am unable to make any decisions on the results of police investigations stemming from the COI report."
Pryde was suspended from the role on full pay in April 2023, pending an investigation into allegations of "misbehaviour" by the then-President, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere, under direction of the Prime Minister.
He was charged after being he was seen talking to the former Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum at a cocktail party in February 2024.
Sayed-Khaiyum was under police investigation at the time they met and his file had been forwarded to Pryde's office, although he claimed he had not yet read it.
Fiji's Attorney-General at the time, Siromi Turaga, said their meeting was tantamount to misconduct.
In April last year he was also charged with receiving superannuation payments that had not been approved by the JSC.
Pryde's superannuation ceased; then his salary and all contractual benefits were "unilaterally' cut off by the Fijian government in July 2024.
However he was cleared of all allegations last December, following a week-long investigation by a Tribunal, which recommended he not be removed from his position.
