From Matangi Tonga Magazine, Vol. 16, no. 1, June 2001.

A self-confessed undercover agent, Kelikolio Tapueluelu, is the person who is in the midst of a controversy that rocked the Tongan Cabinet, after he told the New Zealand television program ‘60 Minutes’ in March that he collaborated with the Minister of Police, Hon. Clive Edwards to break into the home of the Tongan Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Hon. Tevita Tupou, to retrieve a letter from the Minister’s computer.

To support his story Kelikolio gave ‘60 Minutes’ what he claimed was the original tape of his conversation with the Minister of Police instructing him to break into the house of the Attorney General.

Following the showing of ‘60 Minutes’ in New Zealand, the Minister of Police called Kelikolio’s claim “absurd”. He said had never discussed any break-in with Kelikolio and in fact he had spoken to him only once when he turned up at his home, sent by a former Inspector of Police Meleane Lavakei‘aho to ask for a battery.

Meanwhile, Kelikolio is standing firm on the statement that he made on New Zealand television in March.

After the program was aired Kelikolio came to the Matangi Tonga office to tell us why he talked to  ‘60 Minutes’, and to give us some background on the “break-in”.

Kelikolio said that he was a soldier with the Tonga Defence Service, until he was convinced by Inspector Polutele Tu‘ihala-maka, the head of the Tonga Fire Brigade to join the Fire Brigade. Kolio served as a fireman until 1997, when he claims he was called by the Deputy Commander of Police, Taniela Faletau, and told that he was “to become an undercover police, working specifically on illegal drugs”.

Kelikolio claimed that during his time as an undercover policeman he mingled with drug dealers, and got to know how they worked. During this time he also learned how to secretly tape-record his conversations with people, a skill he said later became useful to record his conversations with the Minister of Police Clive Edwards, and a former police inspector Meleane Lavakei‘aho. Kelikolio also claimed that during this time he was planted at the Pro-Democracy Office to report first hand information to  police.

Kelikolio told us that the break-in to the House of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General took place about 17 October 1998 when he went to his home. Once inside the House he said he was aware that the Minister’s wife was in the next room doing some household chores and the Minister was asleep in another room, but he got down to business and worked on the computer, looking for a letter-head to match the letter-head that was given to him. After a while the Minister’s wife saw him and woke up her husband. Kelikolio said Tevita Tupou asked him what was he doing with his computer, to which Kelikolio said he replied, “stealing some information for the Minister of Police.” He said the Minister was annoyed, and told him to leave the House immediately.

Angry

As incredible as Kelikolio’s story may sound, the revelation of all these goings on came about because Kelikolio said he was angry with the Minister of Police for “kicking him out from the police compound” when he went there to pick up his wife and a child who were visiting relatives. In addition he said he was angry because the Minister held two women shop owners in custody for questioning over something they had said on television about the Minister of Police.

The ‘60 Minutes’ presentation played a tape recording that they said was proof of Kelikolio’s story. The presenter claimed that it was the original recording of a conversation between Kelikolio and the Minister of Police, and that it had been smuggled out of Tonga.

Litigation

The Minister of Police did not want to comment on the tape because he said they had filed a case against ‘60 Minutes’ and they want to scientifically check the authenticity of the tape.  

Tevita Tupou on the other hand said that he met Kelikolio for the first time this year, when he came to his home and apologised for breaking into his home, which Tevita Tupou said that he did not know anything about.

Because there was litigation relating to the ‘60 minute’ documentary no one wanted to talk about the issue until the court hearing.