Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has dismissed MP Lynda Tabuya as a minister after an explicit video of her circulated online.
Ms Tabuya has said the private video was meant for her husband, and called its circulation on social media a criminal invasion of privacy.
Mr Rabuka announced his decision to sack Ms Tabuya as minister for women, children and social protection on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday, two days after local Fijian media first reported the leak of the video.
It remains unclear how the video entered the public domain, but Mr Rabuka said it was for Ms Tabuya to pursue an investigation by making a complaint to law enforcement agencies. He added that regardless of how it came to be circulated online, the video had brought his cabinet and party into disrepute.
Mr Rabuka said he asked Ms Tabuya for an explanation, before sacking her and appointing Ms Tabuya’s assistant minister, Sashi Kiran, to replace her in the ministry. “After considering the various codes that we had ascribed to as members of cabinet, I decided that [Ms Tabuya] had acted outside the conduct limits,” Mr Rabuka said.
Ms Tabuya’s future as an MP is also on the line after the People’s Alliance Party started a disciplinary process. She told local media earlier this week “there is nothing scandalous or illegal or immoral about sharing private videos and images between two consenting adults who are in a relationship, in this case me and my husband”.
The MP also said the people sharing the video had subjected her to online gender-based violence, a prevalent issue in Fiji involving the release of private images and videos without a person’s consent.
Ms Tabuya told local media she was working closely with authorities to identify who distributed the video, that she had evidence of one person sharing it on email and that she would file a police complaint.
“I warn anyone who is sharing the video through Messenger or email or any online platform that you are committing a crime and will be held accountable and face serious legal consequences,” she said.
Fiji Assistant Commissioner of Police Livai Driu told local news outlet Fiji Television that the Cyber Crime Unit was investigating after Ms Tabuya lodged a complaint in the capital city, Suva.
