A renewed invitation for public input
Rabuka received the submission from Republic of Fiji Military Forces Commander Major General Ro Jone Kalouniwai in Suva on October 31, 2026. The committee is considering the Constitution (Amendment) Bill No. 32 of 2026, according to the Fiji Sun and The Fiji Times.
In welcoming the commander, Rabuka recalled the constitutional changes pursued through Parliament in 1995. He described the current process as another opportunity for the public to help shape Fiji's Constitution.
"Now we once again come back to that point where we open parliament, we open the legislative arm of the government of Fiji to listen to the people and construct a constitution, and we pray it will last for generations to come," he said, according to The Fiji Times.
Rabuka also reflected on the military and police roles during past national disruptions, saying Fiji had called on them to restore law and order before returning control to the public. He told Kalouniwai that the commander or his successor would have to restore order if things went wrong.
He promised to review the military's submission "with the same deliberation and seriousness that you have employed to construct this very meaningful submission."
Immunity and accountability
The submission included a Declaration on Constitutional Immunity that Kalouniwai said he had signed on the RFMF's behalf on October 16, 2026, fijivillage reported.
Kalouniwai acknowledged the military's involvement in the coups of 1987, 2000 and 2006. "The RFMF does not come before you with clean hands," he said, according to the Fiji Sun. He described an "Architecture of Rebellion" sustained by secrecy, governance through fear, misplaced loyalty and constitutional immunity.
The commander warned that, once the bill passed its third reading, section 207 would put immunity beyond the courts' reach and make it permanent, The Fiji Times reported.
As an alternative to Chapter 14 of the proposed Constitution, the RFMF proposed a Truth, Accountability and Reconciliation Commission. Its proposed rules would make full disclosure a condition for earning protection, rather than granting it in advance. Murder, torture, sexual violence and drug offenses would be excluded from protection, according to fijivillage.
Military duties and institutional safeguards
The RFMF also proposed making it a constitutional duty for soldiers to refuse manifestly unlawful orders and placing every internal military deployment under parliamentary oversight. Extending Parliament's term would require approval from a two-thirds majority of the House.
Its institutional recommendations included keeping the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC), restoring the Ombudsman and balancing the Constitutional Offices Commission. The military also called for safeguards for judicial independence and removal of the provision allowing the chastisement of children.
For the proposed constitutional referendum and the next general election, the RFMF pledged political neutrality. Kalouniwai said no soldier would campaign in uniform and that the military would respect the outcome, "whatever it may be," The Fiji Times reported.
