Luagalau Levaula Kamu (died 16 July 1999) was a

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

n lawyer and

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

. His 1999 assassination was the first political assassination in Samoa since independence in 1962. Kamu trained as a lawyer in New Zealand, at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

and the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

. He served as a chairman of the Samoan Advisory Council in New Zealand, and had practised law in Samoa before entering parliament at the 1996 election. He was appointed to Cabinet as Minister of Public Works by Prime Minister

Tofilau Eti Alesana Tofilau Eti Alesana, AC, born Aualamalefalelima Alesana (4 June 1924 – 19 March 1999) was a Samoan politician who served as the fifth prime minister of Samoa from 1982 to 1985, and again from 1988 until his resignation in 1998. Biography ...

. Kamu was married to fellow MP Maiava Visekota Kamu-Peteru.

Assassination

Kamu was fatally shot during a social function at St Joseph's College hall,

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō ...

, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the ruling Human Rights Protection Party. Kamu had just introduced Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi when he stepped into a back room to answer a phone call. He was shot through a hole in the wall and declared dead on arrival at Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital in

. His assassin,

Eletise Leafa Vitale Eletise Leafa Vitale is the son of Women's Affairs Minister Leafa Vitale who along with former Communications Minister Toi Aukuso conspired to assassinate the Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, the Chief Justice, the Minister of ...

, was arrested ten days later. The killer was the son of Cabinet Minister

Leafa Vitale Leafa Vitale was a Minister of Works and Minister of Women's Affairs in Samoa, who along with Toi Aukuso, former Minister of Post and Telecommunications, plotted the assassination of Samoan Minister of Public Works Luagalau Levaula Kamu in 1999. ...

, who had been the previous Minister of Public Works (and who had been dismissed from that position the preceding November following a scandal involving accusations of embezzlement of public funds). Vitale was arrested, along with a second MP, Communications Minister

Toi Aukuso Toi Aukuso Cain (4 January 1959 – April 18, 2009) was a Samoan politician. He was elected Member of Parliament for the Faleata West constituency in 1979, and served for twenty years until his arrest. He served for a time as Minister of Post an ...

. On 9 August 1999 Eletise Vitale pled guilty to murder and was sentenced to death; his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. Vitale senior and Toi were convicted of assassination in April 2000, and their death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment in May 2000. The assassination was motivated by corruption, as the Public Works portfolio was a lucrative source of bribes. Kamu's assassination is commemorated with an annual lecture series on transparency, accountability and good governance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamu, Luagalau Levaula 1999 deaths Assassinated Samoan politicians Members of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa Samoan chiefs Samoan lawyers University of Auckland alumni Victoria University of Wellington alumni People murdered in Samoa Government ministers of Samoa Human Rights Protection Party politicians Deaths by firearm in Samoa Year of birth missing 1990s assassinated politicians