Samoa’s darkest era since the 1920 s is

Special Report

Samoa's darkest era since 1920s ends with death sentences

By Michael Held

Samoa’s darkest era since the 1920 s is ending with two cabinet ministers sentenced to death for their role in ordering the assassination of another minister. It was a story of greed, money and, ultimately, a rather satanic evil that led Leafa Vitale and Toi Aukuso to standing before Australian Justice Andrew Wilson who passed a death sentence over diem.

But the saga of the murder of Public Works Minister Luagalau Levaula Kamu leaves many more questions that will haunt the government of Prime Minister Tuila’epa Sailele who faces general elections next year.

Ironically Tuila’epa was after the trial hailing the transparency of the Supreme Court that saw

transcriptions of die court proceedings appearing

in the media daily in Samoa. Before Tuila’epa, as finance minister and deputy to Prime Minister Tofilau Eti Alesana, assiduously fought against any openness that would have exposed Leafa and Toi long before anybody was killed.

What was clear from the Supreme Court proceedings in Samoa was that the astonishing degree of corruption practised by Leafa and Toi, and others, was known about for years. And anybody who tried to expose it - from Chief

Auditor Sua Rimoni Ah Chong to the Samoa Observer - paid a heavy price with attacks from Tofilau and Tuila’epa. Sadly one of those who paid for his life was, it seems, no saint either and was a party to the original cover up, Luagalau.

His significance in the ruling Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) was seen in his leading role at the party ’s 20th anniversary ball cm July 16, 1999. He was running the show that night when his cellphone rang shortly after Bpm. It was his niece Sina Kamu Anamani who could not find the ball that was at tire St Joseph’s Hall.

As he spoke to her Leafa’s 34-year-old cocaine addicted son Alatise Vrtale lined up the sights of die automatic rifle his father had given him. He fired, mortally wounding the minister.

Bizarrely the prime minister ordered the dance to continue, as a member of the band that provided the entertainment for the night, Savea Ray Lee Lo, told the court “The prime minister asked me what happened and I sort of said to him that the man, Luagalau, had been injured. And then he said, ‘Well, try and keep on playing’.”

Lo said they continued but they were scared.

The Lands Minister Tuala Sale Tagaloa, whom Leafa also wanted killed, said he called die first

dance.

“While the ministers were coming up to the floor, Minister Joe Keil approached me. He came right up the stage, and he held my hand, and he said, ‘Are you all right, Tuala?’ I said, ‘Yes,’ and he said, ‘That was a gunshot’.

“At that time, I had a strange feeling. My wife also came up to me - up to the stage - and she told me to get away from the centre of the stage,” said Tuala. Yet the scheduled programme of the night was stuck to with the prime minister asked by Tuala to cut the birthday cake.

“I continued to stand up there at that time, and then I again told the band to play another song. It was only the music that was being played, but nobody came up to the floor.”

Even though the police arrived at 9pm Tuila’epa kept the party going, much to the frustration of Police Inspector Rimoni Vaaelua who was worried about contamination of the crime scene. He said he asked the prime minister to finish the party.

“Sir, when I asked and he said that they were finishing, that urge did not persist,” the inspector said. Alatise Vitale was soon after picked up and quickly confessed to New Zealand police officers Detective Inspector Steve Shortland and Detective Sergeant Phillip Kirkham, bought in for the investigation.

“I put the gun mouth, the barrel between the kicks, and just pulled the trigger,” he said in his confession. “The gun was pointed at Leva’s left side. There was a loud bang, it was really loud, a big fire came out the front, then I pulled the gun and started running straight to the front”

Oddly police also pulled in another hired gun, Eneliko Visesio, who was Toi’s card in a battle between the two ministers to kill Luagalau. Despite the famed transparency of the trial, it has never been explained how he got away with not being charged at all. Great efforts were taken to hide him in New Zealand, and pay for the care and protection of his family.

The pathetic nature of the Vitale family came out in the court when Alatise Vitale recanted on his confession, saying the police had forced it out of him. “I am the cause of everything, it did not involve my father,” he wailed in court Then he changed his mind again.

“God knows I love my father,” he said but

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A religious country, Samoa was in shock after the assasination of its Works minister

Continued from previous page “I’ve got to tell the truth before God.”

He said of his confession: “The statement is true, I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

The motive for the killing became clear enough during the trial; both ministers were losing power. Samoa’s insult to its women is illustrated by the way Tuila’epa, in his bid to get rid of Leafa, made him Women’s Affairs Minister. The portfolio had been held by a Tofilau hack, a former heavy weight boxer. It’s never been held by a woman.

Toi, who seems to have fallen out now with Leafa, gave evidence in court that his friend, when he was Public Works Minister, received many tips from contractors.

“That is why Luagalau was shot. Because Luagalau was also the same. He wanted tips.

tips, tips,” said Toi. The frailty of the defence came in the trial’s only humour when Leafa’s hapless counsel, Auckland lawyer Aeau Semi Epati, ridiculously submitted his client could not be guilty because he loved animals.

Toi would not even shoot dogs who ate his chickens and once pleaded to have cattle he had sold for SAMSB9,OOO returned because the new owners kept them confined in space too small.

The assessors voted 4-1 to find the two men guilty and Justice Wilson entered the conviction and passed the mandatory death sentence on April 14,2000. Samoa’s constitution gives Head of State Malietoa Tanumafili II exclusive power, without the need to consult government, over whether to commute death sentences. A kind and gentle man, he always has, ever since independence in 1962. He did it surprisingly

quickly for Alatise Vitale. At the time he signed the document Malietoa was very ill, and feared he too would die soon He did not want an execution on his conscience.

Leafa and Toi will have mixed feelings about Malietoa’s health from now on - for his successor, who ever it is, might not be so gentle.

Luagalau’s widow, Maiava Visekota Peteru, still an MP with the party that harboured her husband’s killers all those years, expressed relief it was over. “I think this trial has brought everything out in the open and we’ve had to relive everything again,” she said.

She said she could cope with support from family and friends, and knowing that her sons were “safely” in Auckland, New Zealand.

“It’s my children; 1 don’t want them to suffer any more than they have.” ■