CELSIUS Talifilu, the political adviser to the late former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani, has been acquitted of two counts of unlawful assembly after the Honiara Magistrate Court ruled that he had no case to answer.
Principal Magistrate Tearo Beneteti delivered the ruling this week, following no-case-to-answer submission made by Talifilu’s lawyer, Lily Ramo of JustLaw Attorneys.
The application was made after the prosecution closed its case, having called three witnesses to support the allegations.
The defence argued that the evidence presented was insufficient in law to require Talifilu to enter a defence.
The decision comes a week after the prosecution formally withdrew charges against the late Suidani under Section 190(2)(b)(i) of the Criminal Procedure Code, following his passing last month. Talifilu had remained the sole accused.
In her ruling, Magistrate Beneteti found that the prosecution had failed to establish any evidence, even circumstantial evidence, linking Talifilu to the alleged 2021 unlawful assemblies.
She said that after assessing the evidence and relevant case authorities, the circumstantial material presented by the prosecution did not connect Talifilu to the riots.
Magistrate Beneteti noted that the evidence appeared to relate more to the late Suidani and there was nothing sufficient to support the charges against Talifilu.
The magistrate highlighted Talifilu’s record of interview as a key factor in her assessment, noting that Talifilu had stated he was not aware of the Malaita for Democracy (M4D) movement apart from hearing about it.
Relying on this and the lack of corroborative evidence, Magistrate Beneteti ruled that Talifilu had no case to answer and declared him a free man.
The ruling concluded a case that began after protests in 2021, which were reportedly organized by M4D in response to the former Democratic Coalition Government for Advancement’s (DCGA’s) decision to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China.
Following the ruling, Talifilu issued a public statement on his Facebook page, describing the outcome as “a victory for democracy” and reaffirming his long-held position that there was never any evidence against him.
He thanked his lawyer for her work and paid tribute to the late Suidani, whose leadership he said continued to inspire the people of Malaita.
Talifilu also announced his intention to pursue a malicious prosecution case against the State in the High Court in the coming days.
“Now that the truth has been affirmed in court, I will be pursuing a malicious prosecution case, “No citizen should ever be put through a baseless legal process,” he wrote.
Talifilu said the ruling had strengthened his resolve and commitment to serve the people of Malaita and Solomon Islands.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
Solomon Star, Honiara
