Anti-gay lawyers seek to oust Tonga’s openly gay chief justice
King of Tonga in South Pacific appointed gay Welsh lawyer effective Sept. 1
The king of the South Pacific nation of Tonga is facing a petition from an association of local lawyers urging him to reverse his appointment of a gay attorney from Wales as chief justice.
Tonga is one of the world’s 64 countries with anti-homosexuality laws.
A petition circulating in Tonga is calling for the newly appointed chief justice, Malcolm Bishop from Wales, to have his position revoked because he is openly gay.
The petition was launched by members of Tonga’s law society and a protest is also planned.
Tonga Law Society president Lopeti Senituli has distanced himself from the petition.
Senituli said the lawyers who kicked the petition into motion were acting independently and not in conjunction with Tonga Law Society.
“That is not an official petition of the Tonga Law Society,” he told RNZ Pacific on [Sept. 9].
“It is a petition by members of the [Tonga] Law Society but it is not sanctioned by the Tonga Law Society executive council,” he added.
Senituli said he has not signed the petition and he did not know how many people signed it.
He said the petition was meant to be handed to Tonga’s King [Sept. 6].
Tonga’s Criminal Offences Act criminalises acts of “sodomy”.
Bishop, 79, began his role on 1 September.
RNZ’s Tonga correspondent Kalafi Moala told RNZ’s First Up some people view the appointment as a mockery to the legal system.
“The appointment of an openly gay man from Wales to be the Chief Justice of Tonga has become a very controversial issue in Tonga this past week,” he said.
Moala said it was up to King Tupou VI to decide what happens.
“The appointment has taken place…some members of the law society are against,” Tonga Law Society president Lopeti Senituli was quoted as saying by Talanoa ‘o Tonga.
“There are at least two members that have signed a petition,” Senituli said.
Moala said signatures are being circulated and a protest march is planned in an attempt to get the King to revoke the appointment.
“In order to keep a check on the balance of power, the King is authorised to appoint the judges of Tonga, the Police Commissioner, the Anti-corruption Commissioner, and the Attorney General.
“The King has councils, such as the judiciary panel and the Privy Council, to advise him on his appointments, but the final decisions are his.”
According to Talanoa ‘o Tonga’s report, as debate continues on the issue, the future of the Chief Justice position in Tonga remains uncertain.
Senituli said prominent local lawyer William Clive Edwards is one of the main people involved in the petition.
RNZ Pacific has reached out to Edwards but has not had a response.
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