Akosita Havili Lavulavu (born 1985) is a

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

n politician and former Cabinet Minister. In 2021 she was jailed for fraud. Lavulavu is the wife of former MP Etuate Lavulavu. She was educated at

Tonga High School Tonga High School is a selective Public school (government funded), state-owned Coeducation, co-ed secondary school located in Nukuʻalofa, Nukualofa, Tonga. The school educates students aged 11 to 18 (Forms 1 - 7). History Tonga High School was ...

, with tertiary study at

Brigham Young University–Hawaii Brigham Young University–Hawaii (BYU–Hawaii) is a private university in Laie, Hawaii. It is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). BYU-Hawaii was founded in 1955, and became a satellite campus of ...

, earning a Bachelor in Information System, and the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the go ...

, earning an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

. Before entering politics, she was the director of the Unuaki o Tonga Royal Institute. Following her husband's conviction for bribery in 2016 she stood in the resulting by-election and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Tonga, becoming the 5th female MP in Tonga's history. She was re-elected at the 2017 general election, after which she was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs and Sports. On 3 March 2018, Lavulavu and her husband were both arrested on fraud charges stemming from their management of the Unuaki o Tonga Royal Institute in 2016. She was subsequently sacked from her Ministerial position. Following the death of Akilisi Pōhiva Lavulavu supported Pohiva Tuionetoa for Prime Minister, leaving the DPFI to join Tuionetoa's new People's Party. While still awaiting trial, in October 2019 she was appointed Minister for Infrastructure and Tourism in the cabinet of Pohiva Tuionetoa. On 4 June 2021 she and her husband were convicted of 3 counts of obtaining money by false pretenses. On 17 June, she took leave from her ministerial position until the case was resolved. On 2 July 2021, she and her husband were sentenced to six years in prison by the Supreme Court of Tonga. On 11 October 2022 the convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal, and the case sent back to the Supreme Court for retrial.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavulavu, Akosita Members of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga Tongan women in politics Women government ministers of Tonga Living people People from Vavaʻu Brigham Young University–Hawaii alumni Tongan Latter Day Saints University of the South Pacific alumni 21st-century women politicians 1985 births 20th-century Tongan women 21st-century Tongan women Female interior ministers Prisoners and detainees of Tonga Tongan prisoners and detainees Tongan politicians convicted of crimes