Peceli Rinakama is a former politician in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. He served as a member of the

Parliament of Fiji The Parliament of the Republic of Fiji is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Fiji. It consists of 55 members elected every 4 years using open list proportional representation in one multi-member nationwide constituency. History ...

from 1999 to 2001.

2000 coup and aftermath

Rinakama was elected to Parliament in the 1999 election, representing the constituency of

Naitasiri :see also Naitasiri District Naitasiri is one of the 14 provinces of Fiji and one of eight located on Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. Geography and infrastructure Naitasiri covers an area of , and occupies the area mostly to the north of Suva, ...

for the

Fijian Association Party The Fijian Association Party (FAP) is a former political party in Fiji. It played a significant role in Fijian politics throughout the 1990s, but lost all of its seats in the House of Representatives in the parliamentary election of 2001. The ...

. During the

2000 Fijian coup d'état The Fiji coup d'état of 2000 was a civilian coup d'état by hardline i-Taukei (ethnic Fijian) nationalists against the elected government of an Indo-Fijian Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry on 19 May 2000. This was followed by an attempt on ...

, he joined the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

George Speight George Speight (born 1957) is a Fijian businessman and politician who was the leader of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état, in which he and rebel soldiers from Fiji's Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit seized the Fijian Parliament and held Prime Ministe ...

. As a result, he was refused entry to New Zealand in 2003 due to his involvement in the coup. Following the coup, he switched his allegiance to the Conservative Alliance, but failed to win re-election in the 2001 election. In 2003, he alleged that the

Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei The Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT), occasionally known in English as Fijian Political Party, was a party which dominated the politics of Fiji in the 1990s and was the mainstay of coalition governments from 1992 to 1999. Origins The party ...

(SVT) party was behind the 2000 coup, and that it had plotted to overthrow the government of

Mahendra Chaudhry Mahendra Pal Chaudhry ( hif, महेन्द्र पाल चौधरी; born 9 February 1942) is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party. Following a historic election in which he defeated the long-time former lead ...

even before it took office. Shortly afterwards he was charged with taking an unlawful oath for purporting to join Speight's Cabinet, and in 2004 he was convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment. He was granted early release for good behaviour in December 2005, having served half his sentence. In 2005 it was alleged that Rinakama had benefitted from a US$13 million fraud in the agriculture ministry in 2001.

Assassination plot

In November 2007, Rinakama was one of ten people arrested and charged with conspiring to assassinate Fijian dictator

Frank Bainimarama Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama (Fijian: ʃoˈsɛia βoˈreŋɡe mbɛiniˈmarama born 27 April 1954) is a Fijian politician and former naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst ...

. All charges against him were withdrawn in December of that year.

Disappearance

On 5 March 2010 Rinakama was abducted by soldiers from a house in

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

. He has not been seen since, and there are fears he has been

disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...

. On 11 March 2010, the Fijian government admitted that Rinakama was in custody, though they would not say where or what for. On 12 March, they claimed he had been released. Despite this, he has not been seen by family or friends, and there are significant fears for his safety.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rinakama, Peceli Living people I-Taukei Fijian members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei politicians Prisoners and detainees of Fiji Fijian Association Party politicians Conservative Alliance-Matanitu Vanua politicians Politicians from Naitasiri Province Year of birth missing (living people)