‘E leai se a’afiaga ‘o le Afioga ‘i le Palemia ‘i gāluega ‘a le fa’amasinoga ‘o lo’o fa’atinoina ‘i matā’upu ‘o lo’o a’afia ai lana Afioga

‘Ua fa’aalia ‘e le Afioga ‘i le Lōia Sili ‘a Sāmoa, Su’a Hellene Wallwork “‘E leai se a’afiaga ‘o le Afioga ‘i le Palemia Hon. La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polata’ivao Fosi Schmidt, ‘i gāluega ‘a le fa’amasinoga ‘o lo’o fa’atinoina ‘i matā’upu ‘o lo’o a’afia ai lana Afioga.”

‘O le tali atu lea ‘i le Sōsaiete ‘a Lōia ‘a Sāmoa ‘i se latou finagalo na fa’aalia ‘i se latou tusi ‘i le Afioga ‘i le Palemia ‘ina ‘ia silasila ‘i faigafa’avae ‘e tūto’atasi ai le fa’atinoga ‘o su’esu’ega ‘a le fa’amasinoga ‘i nisi ‘o matā’upu ‘o lo’o tu’uā’ia ai lana Afioga.

Press Release reads:

I fully respect the role of the Samoa Law Society in advocating for the rule of law. However, I respectfully assure the members of the Samoa Law Society that the Honourable Prime Minister, Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt, has not intervened with the prosecutorial processes for the matters he is involved in. These are sensitive matters that are currently before the Court and it is not appropriate for my Office to comment on these.

The Honourable Prime Minister has made a public statement that he will allow the Court proceedings to take their course. Since taking office, the Prime Minister has not made any enquiries or taken any steps to interfere with the prosecution process. The Prime Minister is well represented by senior legal counsel in his private capacity and I have every confidence that he is receiving the best advice.

I have also assured the Council of the Samoa Law Society that there is no impediment to the Office of the Attorney General and my constitutional functions with having the Honourable Prime Minister as the Minister for our Office. It is my understanding the Prime Minister has always been the Minister for the Office of the Attorney General. There is nothing unusual with this portfolio being with the Prime Minister.

At this time, we continue to keep the Honourable Prime Minister and his family in our prayers as we await his safe return to Samoa to lead our Government.

I also take this opportunity to urge all members of our Law Society to continue to uphold our standards of professional conduct and ethics, especially in the way we communicate with each other.

It is also important to remind the media to report more responsibly. Using inflammatory headlines on the online publications without making the article freely available contributes to unnecessary and misinformed discourse on social media.

Su’a Hellene Wallwork
ATTORNEY GENERAL

ATA: Junior S. Ami (Samoa Observer).