Second intimate video scandal hits Fiji government

The Fijian prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, has called on anyone making allegations against a cabinet minister to come forward with evidence and testify, after an explicit video surfaced on the minister's Facebook profile. In a front-page story on Monday, the Fiji Sun quoted Rabuka as saying he wanted someone prepared to testify against his minister so the minister could be given the chance to defend himself. The intervention came as the scandal dominated Fijian social media across the weekend.

According to local media reports, the one-minute clip appeared on the Facebook profile of a prominent male minister on Friday night before being removed. fijivillage.com reported on Saturday that the minister had not made any comment, had not said whether his account was hacked or whether the video was uploaded by accident, and had not confirmed whether the Online Safety Commission had been alerted as the footage circulated. The controversy broke on the eve of Fiji Day, the country's national holiday.

It is the second time an intimate recording of a minister in Rabuka's government has reached the public domain. An intimate video involving a female cabinet minister was leaked online and went viral on Christmas Eve in 2024; that minister said the private recording had originally been intended for her husband.

The fallout from the earlier case was significant: Rabuka suspended the minister and removed her from cabinet in early 2025, though she later returned to a new portfolio. In the current case, no such action has been announced, and the minister at the centre of the latest video has yet to address it publicly.

RNZ Pacific said it had contacted the minister concerned for comment. As of Monday's reporting, no response had been made public, and it was not clear whether any formal investigation had been opened.