Tu'uakitau Cokanauto

Ratu Tu'uakitau George Cokanauto (born 5 June 1945) is a Fijian chief and politician. He is the scion of a distinguished family, as a son of Ratu Sir Edward Cakobau (a former Deputy Prime Minister and one of modern Fiji's founding fathers), and brother of the Parliamentary Speaker, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau.

The 1999 election and aftermath

In the parliamentary election of 1999, Cokanauto, a candidate of the Fijian Association Party (FAP), won the Tailevu North Ovalau Open constituency on a recount, having failed to win on the initial count by a mere two votes. Although the FAP was part of the victorious People's Coalition, Cokanauto was not included in the new Cabinet announced by Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry. Following disagreements over the party's nominations to the Senate and the style of leadership, Cokanauto challenged Deputy Prime Minister and Fijian Affairs Minister Adi Kuini Speed for the leadership of the party on 11 September 1999. He initially ousted her, but the High Court subsequently ruled in Speed's favour. A vote to resolve the impasse narrowly confirmed Speed as leader, and Cokanauto and his supporters moved to the Opposition benches in January 2000, forming a breakaway faction of the FAP.

The 2000 coup

On 20 June 2005, Cokanauto testified at the trial of four persons accused of accepting appointment to the rebel Taukei Cabinet of George Speight during the Fiji coup of 2000. Cokanauto said that he, too, had been approached by Speight to join the rebel cabinet but had refused because it was illegal. He said that he and several others from his Fijian Association Party had indeed visited Speight on the night of 19 May 2000, following the seizure of the parliamentary complex that morning by Speight and a number of armed men. The purpose of the visit was not to accept illegal office, he said, but to raise concerns about the welfare of their families, as they had heard that the capital Suva was on fire. "I made it clear to him that our presence was not to obtain any Cabinet portfolio," Cokanauto said. He was also concerned about the treatment of seven members of his party's parliamentary caucus, who were being held as hostages by Speight.

Cokanauto said that he and his colleagues were summoned to a meeting with Speight at 7.30 the next morning, and informed that Speight was to be appointed Prime Minister. Cokanauto subsequently chaired a meeting with members of the party, told them that everything which was happening was illegal, and advised them to "clear out" of the parliamentary complex before it was too late.

The interim government (2000 - 2001) and the 2001 election

Following the failure of the coup, Cokanauto was appointed on 19 July 2000 to the Cabinet of interim Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, as Minister for Local Government, Housing, and the Environment. His brother, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Fijian Affairs in the same government.

In the general election held to restore democracy in September 2001, Cokanauto stood as an independent candidate. He was defeated by Josefa Vosanibola, the candidate of Qarase's United Fiji Party.

Recent developments

Cokanauto currently (June 2005) serves as a director of the Native Land Trust Board, which administers the 83 percent of the land that is communally owned by indigenous Fijians.