Lesatele Rapi Vaai has been appointed as the President of the Lands and Titles Court. As first reported by Radio Polynesia, Lesatele will replace Fepulea’i Atilla Ropati whose last day in office is tomorrow.
This was confirmed by a Cabinet Minister in response to Radio Polynesia questions. Lesatele has accepted the appointment which has been endorsed by the Acting Head of State.
We reached out to Lesatele for comment but efforts were unsuccessful. Lesatele, a former president of the Samoa law Society was appointed to the District Court in 1996.
Radio Polynesia also reached out to the Minister of Justice and Courts Administration but efforts were unsuccessful as of press time.
He later served as President of the LTC and was later appointed to the Supreme Court. He retired from the Court in February 2017 and then took a judicial position in Nauru.
Following his retirement, he was appointed to chair a Commission of Inquiry into the actions of three police officers accused of misconduct and evidence tampering.
In November 2020 he was reappointed to the Supreme Court as a temporary judge for a term of one year to help deal with election-related cases.
