The Fiji Truth and Reconciliation Commission continued its second public hearing in Suva this morning, where family members of the late Kalivati Bakani, the former General Manager of the then Native Land Trust Board, shared their emotional testimonies.

The late Bakani was jailed in 2014 for misusing funds belonging to Fiji’s Indigenous people, which were managed by the Native Land Trust Board.

During his virtual submission, Bakani’s youngest son, Maika Bakani, said the 2006 political upheavals ruined his childhood and took his father away from him.

Maika Bakani says he was just 14 when he lost his father, a tragedy that left him in severe depression and the family in an extreme financial situation.

“When they read out his sentence that day at court, I was in disbelief. And then just watching this once great man slowly slip away from us over the following year and a half in prison, and then in hospital, was heartbreaking. I was very close to my dad. And when he passed away in 2016, I spiraled out of control.”

Bakani adds that he is proud of his father’s willpower, as despite his suffering, he remained hopeful. He says he continues to nurture this value in his life while encouraging others to participate in the TRC’s hearings to support healing.

Commissioner Ana Laqeretabua commended the families for their courage in coming forward and speaking openly about their trauma.

“So what we envision is that more people will come and tell us their stories, and as they tell us their stories, and we take them on this journey of, you know, deeply unearthing things that we’ve suppressed, that we confronted, that we’re able to learn from it.”

The Bakani family has recommended the establishment of a national care framework and a better education system to support people going through

trauma. The TRC will be presenting these recommendations to the President after the completion of the hearings.

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