M.P. rejects foul language complaint

A Member of Parliament, Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi, is the subject of a Police complaint alleging he used profanity and gave chase to a former Human Rights Protection Party (H.R.P.P.) member. 

The Police Commissioner, Fuiavailiili Egon Keil confirmed that the complainant, Asiata Lautoa Lavea, had officially filed a complaint last week regarding Lealailepule’s alleged use of foul language.

Asiata told the Samoa Observer that Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi had used profanity against him as he was chasing him off H.R.P.P. property last Friday, February 14.

The Police complaint was lodged on Monday.

“On Friday, the H.R.P.P. was having a happy hour which I attended along with another chief,” he said.

Asiata says he was then cursed at and chased off the property by Lealailepule and another H.R.P.P member and parliamentarian. 

However, Lealailepule flatly denied that anyone used blasphemous language.

Lealailepule disputed the claims and said Asiata should not have been at the event there in the first place.

“The meeting was for Members of Parliament only, and no one else but he was just sitting there,” he said.

“So we told him to leave, because he should not be there in the meeting."

He said the Police were at the scene at the time and witnessed all the events of the evening. 

Lealailepule maintained that no one swore at Asiata as there were legislators present at the time: “that’s a lie”.

The M.P. claims he was acting in his capacity as the Deputy Whip or deputy spokesperson of the political party, ensuring that no one other than M.P.s are present.

Asiata currently resides in Auckland New Zealand. He claims to be one of the founding members of the H.R.P.P.

Asked why he was chased out of the H.R.P.P. gathering, he supposed that it was because he took part in a Samoa Solidarity International Group march in New Zealand on Waitangi day.

“During Waitangi day, I was the one that delivered the speech on Waitangi Day, but I did not say anything bad about H.R.P.P.,” he said.

“The only thing I said was: 'We support you Waitangi, and we want the same for our country, Samoa, never lose our land'.”

Leala countered: “[The Police complaint] is no big deal to me, [because] that’s his right. All we did was to chase him away because he should not have been there at that meeting,” 

The Member of Parliament said there is nothing to do about it but to let the Police investigation run its course.