Life imprisonment for two in Holonga murder [1]
Wednesday, May 11, 2022 - 09:27
By Linny Folau
Two men, aged in their 20s, were spared death penalties and, instead, sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, after bludgeoning to death the victim, Fanaafi Misifane (35), at Holonga in 2019. A third man was sentenced to eight-years for manslaughter.
Hon. Mr Justice Cooper sentenced both Motuku Ve’evalu Kafalava (25) and Maka Filihia (23) to life imprisonment for murder, on 5 May at the Supreme Court in Nuku'alofa.
A third accused, Meili Valele (23) was sentenced to eight-years imprisonment for manslaughter, with the final 18-months suspended for two-years on conditions.
"Mr Fanaafi Misifane's death was a tragedy," said the judge.
The victim was repeatedly beaten on the head with metal pipes on the night of 5 October 2021 at Holonga. He had that same morning returned to Tonga from six-months' seasonal work in Australia.
"He was back home with his wife, children and friends to celebrate quietly at home that evening. But that was all ended for him that very night," said
Mr Misifane had a small group of friends come to greet his return at his home in Holonga; about half a dozen joined him. They were drinking in the kitchen in the evening when the defendant Kafalava, arrived some time around 10:00pm.
“He was uninvited and unknown to either Mr Misifane or his wife. Yet he came into their house, started helping himself to their alcohol, grabbing bottles from their table. Even in his police interview, he accepted that he was uninvited and that his presence led to an argument with Mr. Misifane,” he said.
“Meanwhile, Mr Misifane wanted him out.”
The judge said that the evidence was that Kafalava was drunk and loud.
“That type of behaviour of coming into a stranger's house at their private gathering and making demands for drink could not be much less provocative. As we shall see, being aggressive and provocative was part of Mr Kafalava' s behaviour that day.”
He was told to leave and eventually he did. But, he returned, this time with the other defendant, Filihia, in the red car that the latter was driving.
Earlier that day both defendants had been together. They had driven into Nuku'alofa together and bought and consumed alcohol. As they made their way home they had encountered the third defendant, Valele, and had given him a lift from where he lived in town.
In his police interview, Valele had provided some detail as to what that car journey was like. He had been with a friend of his, Ricky. Both had been walking together when they encountered the first two defendants in Mr. Filihia's car.
Murder
The judge said, having once already been at his home and behaved as he did, Kafalava returned and this time was driven onto the Misifane property by Filihia. They parked, got out and again tried to get for themselves drink from the party.
The victim and his wife had gone briefly to the store in Holonga and they returned to find Kafalava and Filihia arguing with their guests.
“Again Mr Misifane told the intruders to leave.”
Filihia drove the car off the propetiy and parked close by in the road and then for a third time Kafalava returned with Filihia.
“Mr Kafalava was punched and the two retreated into the road and started to shout challenges to the group on Mr Misifane's land to fight them. They were unarmed at this time. But to conclude that they had wanted to stir trouble to this sort of a pitch from the start,” said the judge.
“Two in Mr Misifane's group had picked up machetes and Mr Misifane had a tanetane stick. They chased the first two defendants. Mr Filihia drove off and Mr Kafalava remained on foot.
"The shouts of ‘ta ke mate’ (fight to the death) that were heard by Mr Valele's mother that night, coming from down the road, towards her home, I have no doubt came from Mr Kafalava's group and in all likelihood from himself."
He said as Mr Misifane and two others with him came abreast the cemetery, the victim appeared to have been caught on his own.
Kafalava had armed himself with a piece of iron pipe. It was dark coloured and about 2 meters in length.
“Mr Kafalava hit Mr Misifane with that weapon. It immediately span his head right around and sent him to the ground. After that strike, no witness ever saw him move of his own volition again.
“Mr Kafalava stood over his victim and yelled to his friends ‘come and fight, if not he will die’. When they did not, he started to club the defenceless Mr Misifane to his head with the pipe.
"Mr Filihia joined in. He had driven as far as the Valele home at the end of the road, parked and ran onto their property and pulled from the ground a section of scaffold pole. It was this that he carried to where Mr Kafalava was, striking Mr Misifane's head he joined in the attack. He struck him to the head with his weapon at least once."
Valele joined in taking a tanetane branch and using it to strike the then badly injured victim to his head. That branch was found the next day by a neighbour, 'Enifila Filimoe'atu. She saw blood on it; a solid area of staining on one side with splatter marks trailing up from that point.
“Mr Misifane was killed on the ground where he lay. Sudden and savage he had no chance at all,” he said.
"His head was bashed in. Brain was found to have come out of an open fracture to his forehead. He also suffered a depressed fracture to his skull. His teeth were badly damaged. He was kiIled by blunt trauma, caused by the two defendants with the iron pipes.
“He had been bludgeoned to death."
All three defendants had been identified at the scene and were swiftly arrested.
The judge said Mr Misifane has four children aged 11-years-old to three-years old.
"I have no doubt words can not convey the terrible impact on the whole family. Signs of it are in the way their eldest has struggled with her schooling since. Or, their first Christmas without their father, Mrs Misifane's husband; children going without because their mother lacked the money. Their financial security as a family eroded, making their loss all the more profound."
He said it was noteworthy that the first two defendant's families had met with her to apologise; but the defendants themselves never had.
Sentence for murder
The judge said there are only two alternatives; the death penalty or a life sentence.
"I remind myself of the guidance that Webster CJ provided in R v Vo/a [2005] Tonga LR 404; principally that the death penalty is a rejection of any hope of rehabilitation and how that approaches could be maintained in this christian Kingdom."
He also considered the right to life, Article 3 the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Article 2, Human Rights Act, UK.
“That for persons convicted of murder, life imprisonment should be the rule and death sentence the exception. While not making rigid standards; death sentences ought to be reserved for only the most rare and heinous offences,” he said.
Group attack
He said the aggravating factors here was the use of weapons, repeated strikes to the head, the victim defenceless on the ground and group attack.
The only mitigating factors was their youth.
"Their sentence is fixed by law and each I sentence to life imprisonment. "
Both are to complete life skills and drink and drug awareness courses in prison.
Valele, joined the attack much later. He was not with his co-defendants taunting and disrupting the party at the victim's house earlier. His weapon was entirely different, said the judge who also noted his age and remorse.
He was sentenced to eight-years imprisonment.
The last 18-months of Valele's sentence was suspended for two-years on conditions. His sentence was also backdated to 29 October 2021, when he was first remanded in custody.