Vanuatu’s Head of State, Obed Moses Tallis, pardoned the conviction of veteran politician Willie Jimmy Wednesday.
Jimmy is the founder and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and served in many legislatures. A former Minister of Finance and former Deputy Prime Minister, he was among 14 Members of Parliament (MPs) who were implicated in the bribery and corruption charges in 2014/15 and were convicted of those crimes.
He was the only one to have not been jailed as he entered a guilty plea at the first given opportunity. Jimmy was then given a suspended sentence which he already served.
In 2021, the veteran politician questioned his status after the Head of State pardoned some politicians including former Prime Minister Charlot Salwai, who was also convicted but pardoned less than a year, after his conviction. He referred to their pardoning as “unfair”.
The longtime parliamentarian had told the Vanuatu daily Post in an interview last year that he would be seeking a presidential pardon “again” on medical grounds.
According to the Official Gazette, the Head of State also pardoned former MP for Efate Rural, Steven Kalsakau’s conviction. He was also part of the 14 MPs. He was released from parole in 2017, after serving half of his sentence in the Correctional facility.
Two other individuals who were pardoned yesterday were former director of the Public Works Department, Sam Namuri and Jacob Tovovur.
The Pardon of Conviction Order was signed and gazetted Wednesday
Photo file ABC Caption: Vanuatu politician WIllie Jimmy