Dear Editor – I am following up my previous article about appointment of Mr Moti as Attorney General because I have requested the responsible Commissioner or anyone at all to correct my comments on the issue but it looks though the Commissioner does not wish to take side or to comment on the issue.
I certainly respect the Commissioner stand may be as they say, “Let the sleeping dogs lie,” because time to comment on the issue has long gone.
If you check the Solomon Star issues during that period of time, you will certainly find the stories about this issue.
Now, when Mr Sogavare removed the Attorney General from his post, the former Attorney General challenged his removal from office in the High Court and you may well remember that (if I am correct), the mulling of the High Court was that the Prime Minister has the power to remove the Attorney General from his post.
In other word, it could mean that the Prime Minister can remove the Attorney General if he has to.
Now, if that mulling also stands for any Prime Minister at all, then Dr Derek Sikua, who took over from Mr Sogavare as Prime Minister at that time, also has the power to remove Moti from the post of the Attorney General just like what Mr Sogavare did.
I leave it to you to make your own judgement.
What made me so flabbergasted on this particular issue is that, how can a Prime Minister took his own initiative, to choose a foreigner, who did not apply to take up a constitutional post which the appointment of the incumbent is provided for under section 42(2) in the constitution?
Is this legal and a normal way to fill in vacant posts in the Public Service Establishment? And if Mr Sogavare, for same particular reason, ordered the Cabinet to advise the Governor General under section 31 (1) in the Constitution to appoint Mr Moti as Attorney General and if that was what happened, is it legal for section 3(0) to supersede. Section 42(2) in the same Constitution just for the sake of Mr Moti, a foreigner who did not apply, to be appointed as Attorney General? I am looking forward to any clarifications on what I have pointed out above.
Romano Nongebatu
Munda
