THE case of former Gao-Bugotu Member of Parliament (MP) Samuel Manetoali has been adjourned till November 24 for a possible plea on the 10 conversion charges remitted for retrial in the Honiara Magistrate Court by the Court of Appeal.
His case was mentioned for the first time in the Honiara Magistrate Court on Monday following the Appeal Court’s dismissal of his appeal and confirmed that he must answer to the 10 counts of conversion.
The Court of Appeal ruling, delivered on 31 October 2025 by Justice John Baptist Muria (President), Justice Gavara-Nanu and Justice Philip Morrison KC, upheld a 2023 High Court decision ordering a retrial on counts 3–9, 12, 14 and 16.
The High Court had earlier found that the Magistrate Court wrongly acquitted Manetoali on those counts in 2019, during a no case to answer ruling, which cleared him of all 18 conversion charges at the time.
Manetoali faces 18 counts of conversion under section 278(1)(c)(ii) of the Penal Code.
The charges relate to payments made from a $100,000 Taiwan-funded Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocation deposited into the Gao-Bugotu Constituency account in December 2014.
The alleged payments included “medical assistance, engraving expenses, wedding assistance, petrol”, and several payments for beer expenditures the court found inconsistent with the CDF Manual, which restricts spending to socio-economic development and income-generating projects.
The Court of Appeal rejected his claims that the High Court relied too heavily on the CDF Manual instead of Taiwan’s guidelines and that the recipients of the funds should have been called to give evidence.
It also dismissed his argument that the CDF Act 2013 was not in force at the time, confirming that the Act had been properly gazetted.
Following the dismissal of the appeal, the case returned to the Honiara Magistrate Court on Monday for its first mention.
It was listed before Deputy Chief Magistrate Rongomea Iomea, but was mentioned before Principal Magistrate Michael Fagani due to the absence of Iomea.
Manetoali did not attend the proceedings.
His lawyer, Jim Seuika of JS Ward & Associates, informed the court that the former MP was sick and unable to appear.
The matter was adjourned to 24 November for a possible plea on the charges ordered for retrial.
Public Prosecutor Jeremy Oiofa appeared on instruction from his colleague Olivia Ratu Manu for the Crown.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
Solomon Star, Honiara
