Kairuku MP reinstated

A THREE-judge Supreme Court panel has reinstated National Alliance Party member Peter Isoaimo as the MP for Kairuku, overturning an earlier National Court decision to remove him.
The National Court in June last year removed Isoaimo as the Kairuku MP on a ground of bribery, and ordered a by-election.
Isoaimo then challenged the National Court decision to nullify his win in General Election 2022.
The three-judge bench comprising Justice Susan Prudon-Sully, Justice Jacinta Murray and Justice Bethuel Dingake ruled that the facts pleaded in Paru Aihi’s petition did not connect Isoaimo to the offence of bribery to invalidate his election victory.
Thus they found him not guilty of committing bribery during the 2022 General Election.
Justice Prudon-Sully on behalf of the panel said the trial judge in the National Court erred in finding Isoaimo guilty of bribery pursuant to section seven of the Criminal Code, as there was no foundation in the pleadings of the material facts and elements as referred to.
Justice Prudon-Sully said the pleadings in the allegation did not argue that the bribery was done with Isoaimo’s knowledge and authority as the National Court found in its decision that resulted in invalidating the election.
She explained that the National Court went outside of what was pleaded by finding that Isoaimo knew his campaign manager Marcel Makuri’s intention and intentionally aided him to commit the offence.
“We find that the omission to plead with the knowledge and authority of the applicant (Isoaimo) fall short of meeting the requirement to plead all the material and relevant facts under section 208(a) of the Organic Law,” she said.
“It was an omission that cannot be viewed as importing into.”
Justice Prudon-Sully said the National Court erred for disclosing what was not pleaded and provided in the evidence.
A relived Isoaimo later said he was confident that he did nothing wrong.
“I am now relieved that the highest court in this country has cleared me from the allegation of bribery which is criminal in nature,” he said.
He said he was ready to go back and serve his people.