The Mo’ui Fo’ou ‘ia Kalaisi Fellowship must vacate the property of the Siasi Tokaikolo ‘ia Kalaisi at Ha’ateiho within 30 days from 9 November, following an order by O. G. Paulsen, the President of the Tonga Land Court

The fellowship is a new church that grew out of a branch of the Tokaikolo Church that was established at Ha’ateiho in 1997 by Sione Maile, a church minister and the Secretary General of the Tokaikolo Church.

According to the Tonga Land Court report, the Ha’ateiho Tokaikolo church started with a small group who worshipped in a shelter at Sione’s town allotment until the Tokaikolo church secured a lease in 1997.

The development of the Ha’atehiho Tokaikolo property was a combined effort of the Tokaikolo Ha’ateiho members and members of other Tokaikolo branches.

By 2013 the Tokaikolo property at Ha’ateiho comprised a church, a hall, residential and school buildings.

During July 2013, the President of the Tokaikolo Church, Liufau Saulala and the Secretary General Sione Maile were both in Auckland, New Zealand.

While in Auckland, Sione presented his letter of resignation as the Secretary General of the Tokaikolo Church to President Liufau Saulala on 8 July.

Six days later, on 14 July he announced the establishment of his new church, the Mo’ui Fo’ou ‘ia Kalaisi Fellowship.

Simultaneously, Sosaia Tautalanoa, a member of the Mo’ui Fo’ou ‘ia Kalaisi Fellowship took possession of the Tokaikolo Ha’ateiho property for Mo’ui Fo’ou. He also called for those in the Ha’ateiho congregation that would not join Mo’ui Fo’ou to leave the property.

It was reported that “the Tokaikolo congregation left their Ha’ateiho property peacefully but not voluntarily.”

There was also a conviction by Tokaikolo members who were converted to the Mo’ui Fo’ou that President Liufau Saulala was willing for Sione Maile and his new church to also have ownership of the Tokaikolo property.

Fine’eva Tautulaki a Mo’ui Fo’ou converter who attended the bible study program of the Tokaikolo Church that was conducted by Liufau in Auckland on 10 July 2013, reported that President Liufau Saulala was “willing to let Sione go with all his workings, because all his workings belonged to him and was his individual undertaking”.

However in January 2015, the Tokaikolo Church  gave the Mo’ui Fo’ou ‘ia Kalaisi Fellowship notice of its intention to reclaim its Ha’ateiho property.

Liufau Saulala, however, stated in his evidence to the Tonga Land Court that the lease of the land and the buildings on it which consist of the church building, Minister’s residence, hall and school buildings “are properties of the church as declared in the Constitution. It is not my personal property to give away even if I wanted to . . .”