Court

ODPP challenges court ruling

January 14, 2022 4:22 pm

Luke Nasetava

The Director of Public Prosecutions will file an appeal against the decision of the High Court on December 20th, 2021 to acquit Luke Nasetava of the murder of his wife.

The High Court instead found the accused guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter.

Nasetava has been sentenced to nine years imprisonment by the High Court earlier today, with a non-parole period of eight years.

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The court acquitted the accused of murder and instead convict him of manslaughter on the grounds that his wife had provoked him to kill her as a result of her alleged marital infidelity.

Christopher Pryde says they are of the view that marital infidelity cannot be used to constitute a wrongful act within the meaning of Section 242 (2) of the Crimes Act.

Pryde adds that allowing a man to have a murder charge reduced to manslaughter by claiming that he was provoked into killing his wife by her alleged infidelity is wrong in law and reflects an outdated view of gender roles in modern Fijian society.

The court found that Luke Nasetava stabbed his wife multiple times on her back, head and other parts of her body at her workplace on August 31st, 2019, which led to her death.

Pryde says the Notice of Appeal will be filed in the Court of Appeal on Monday.