Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Former minister says Solomons PM was misled over Moti record

Posted at 02:01 on 05 September, 2007 UTC

A former government minister in Solomon Islands says it appears the Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has been misled over the Julian Moti affair.

Mr Moti was controversially appointed Attorney General despite being wanted in Australia for alleged child sex offences committed in Vanuatu, but the Prime Minister has said the allegations have no basis and had been dropped by Vanuatu authorities.

But the former minister Alfred Sasako says the case against Mr Moti in Vanuatu is still pending and the Prime Minister has been fed misleading information about it.

Mr Sasako says he is concerned that the longer the misinformation is allowed to circulate, the more damage it causes the nation and the Office of the Prime Minister.

He says there should be an independent judicial inquiry to uncover the source of this information while Mr Moti should stand down and go to Australia to answer the charges.