“ JUSTICE IS DONE...LEGAL JUSTICE…Technicality, according to the Appellate Court, a “stay of execution” granted Mr. Tapueluelu a pass to file for election in 2014. And that he did not breach Article 65 of the Constitution. Understandable, congratulations to his legal defense lawyer for a job well done. It’ll be interesting to know, however, how the judges (Moore, Handly, Blanchard, and Tupou) voted; unanimous or a split decision?
Morally however, according to Mr. Tapueluelu’s own writing in the Kele’a newspaper, “he called the Commission of Elections” and they told him he did not have any debts; that he was free to file and stand for election. Māteni Tapueluelu knew he had unpaid debts to Mr. Clive Edwards from back on June 17, 2011. Why did he call the Commission of Elections? Does he have friends there? His “get-out-of-jail” card, “stay of execution” helped him avoid making good on his debts to Mr. Edwards.
This saga seems to have the same DNA as of former MP ‘Etuate Lavulavu’s smart moves. The wheels of moral justice may seem slow in action, but eventually it renders a moral verdict. ”