29 Aug 2006

Former MP in Samoa to take legal action against village mayor

6:59 am on 29 August 2006

Samoa's former government Associate Minister and member of parliament who was last month convicted of bribery and treating in an election court ruling, will take legal action against a village mayor or pulenu'u for contempt of court.

The former MP, Pa'u Sefo Pa'u, says the pulenu'u has disobeyed a Lands and Titles court ruling to lift the ostracism of him and his family.

The order was made last year when the village of Fusi Safotulafai had decided to banish the former MP and several other matais as a result of not following the village cultural protocols.

The controversy has re-surfaced after the pulneu'u, Faletufuga Viliamu, told SBC radio that his sub village of Vaimaga and Eveeve, within Safotulafai village do not accept the former MP's daughter as a candidate in the up-coming by-election.

Faletufuga says Pa'u is banned from the village and they don't accept his daughter as one of the by-election candidates.