It is incredulous that in this day and age, the actions of some village councils in dispensing questionable forms of justice targeting families and individuals continue to emerge.

Last month a family in Faleu Manono had their store set on fire by arsonists and their house targeted by stone-throwing thugs, a couple of days after the village council banished a father and his sons who are part of the same family.

Last week some members of the Samoan Independent Seventh Day Adventist Church (S.I.S.D.A.C.) who are residents in Matautu Falelatai had water to their homes disconnected and road access cut off stopping their children from attending school, the result of a long-running dispute with the village council following a Lands and Titles Court ruling last year that banned the establishment of a new church in the village.

And in the 5 September 2021 edition of the Sunday Samoan (Village Mayor charged over hog tying incident), we read how a father was tied with a rope like a pig and hauled before the village council last month for defying its orders. 

His crime? The sons of a man – who were banished earlier last month from the village by the village council – were sighted in the village in breach of the council’s orders, consequently the man being tied and dragged before the council.

The rise in these cases, which have been connected to village council decisions in recent months, should raise red flags amongst the authorities and the Police and Prisons Minister has every reason to be concerned.

Faualo Harry Schuster told the Samoa Observer (Chiefs’ new powers abused: Minister) that he believes the cases point to a clash between human rights and village rights, and singled out the controversial Lands and Titles Court (L.T.C.) suite of bills which were passed by the Human Rights Protection Party (H.R.P.P.)-dominated Parliament in December last year and enacted early this year.

“It is with great sadness that the aftermath of the three bills [Chiefs have taken their authority] to the next level; not only banishing members of their village but also making drastic demands,” said the Minister. “This is not the Samoa we want. 

“The village councils are using their authority to ban certain things from within the villages and if anyone or any chief does not heed they proceed to oust families. It’s disappointing.”

The H.R.P.P. Government should have considered the long-term consequences of giving village councils unchecked powers, when its L.T.C. Bills agenda was first exposed in April last year. But sadly the bills were bulldozed through the Legislative Assembly towards the latter part of 2020 despite public condemnation and later passed.

Today ordinary Samoan families, who are subject to the jurisdiction of their village councils on a daily basis, have to live with the consequences of these draconian laws and are at the mercy of their chiefs.

However, thankfully, the Police’s response to complaints of alleged mistreatment and human rights abuse connected to a village council matter, have been swift. One man has already been charged in connection with the Faleu Manono case. 

While another 13 have had the assault, forcible entry and wilful trespass charges slapped on them in connection with the hog tying incident at Lotoso’a Saleimoa village. And the Police have visited Matautu Falelatai over the S.I.S.D.A.C. issue.

But the Police can only do so much, especially when village councils feel they have the power supported by legislation to dispense their form of justice.

This is why Faualo, in his capacity as Police and Prisons Minister, has called for dialogue with the village councils to highlight how Samoa’s Constitution protects individual freedoms in the country.

We agree with the Minister’s appeal for dialogue with village councils as the first step towards finding a long-term solution. 

But the existence of the laws including the Village Fono Act, which some say was the forerunner to the now enacted L.T.C. Bills due to the powers it gave village councils, should be independently reviewed by legal experts with their findings presented to the Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (F.A.S.T.) Government for its consideration.

Parliament should never become a rubber stamp for legislation that doesn’t guarantee the protection of citizens’ basic human rights.