3 Apr 2016

Ex top policeman says he has no faith in Fiji police chief

3:42 pm on 3 April 2016

The former Fiji Police head of intelligence and investigations says he has no confidence in the country's recently confirmed Police Commissioner, Sitiveni Qiliho.

The Fiji Times reports Henry Brown, who resigned in January after initially being sent on leave, is now in Australia.

Mr Brown was sent on leave after Mr Qiliho said he was under investigation, although last month the Director of Public Prosecutions ruled no criminal charges were being laid.

Mr Brown said the accusations levelled against him were baseless and the decision by the DPP was because there was insufficient evidence.

The former high-ranking officer said what the DPP found was obvious from the beginning and allegations were plucked out of thin air.

Mr Brown said to this day he is unaware as to who made allegations against him and he had seen no documents or statements about them.

Fiji's Police Commissioner, Sitiveni Qiliho. April 2016.

Fiji's Police Commissioner, Sitiveni Qiliho. Photo: Fiji PM's YouTube channel.

He said he never agreed to be sent on leave, never got a chance to respond and the whole situation reeked of a witch-hunt for reasons only known to the Commissioner.

Mr Brown says he had lost faith in the police leadership.

Mr Qiliho, a former military commander, was appointed acting police commissioner after the sudden resignation of Ben Groeneweld last year.

Mr Groenweld swiftly returned to South Africa, citing constant military interference in police work.

Mr Qiliho is the third senior military officer to run the police force since the 2006 coup.

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