Lafaitele Patrick Leiataualesa

Lafaitele Patrick Leiataualesa (also known as Pat Leota) (born ~1968)^[1] is a Samoan politician and former member of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa. He is a member of the Human Rights Protection Party.

Lafaitele Patrick Leiataualesa
Member of the Samoa Parliament for Alataua West
In office 31 March 2006 – 4 March 2016
Preceded by	Tuaiaufai Latu
Succeeded by	Ali'imalemanu Alofa Tuuau
Personal details
Political party	Human Rights Protection Party

Lafaitele worked in New Zealand as a fruit picker.^[2] In 1988 he was involved in a fight in the Ōtara shopping centre in which a man was hunted down and killed with a machete.^[1] He was convicted of manslaughter for his role in the killing and sentenced to six years imprisonment.^[2] He was deported in 1992 after serving four years of his sentence.^[2] Despite his deportation, he re-entered New Zealand repeatedly using a new passport and a new name.^[2]

Lafaitele was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Samoa at the 2006 Samoan general election as an independent. After siding with the HRPP he was appointed associate minister of revenue.^[2] Shortly after the election, his New Zealand murder conviction was revealed.^[1] Lafaitele claimed the killing was in self-defence and that he had been unable to appeal against the conviction due to lack of money.^[3] He was re-elected at the 2011 election^[4] and appointed associate minister for Police and Prisons. In November 2013 he was suspended from the party and his associate ministerial role after swearing at an official during an ava drinking ceremony.^[5][6] He was reinstated in April 2014.^[7][8]

He lost his seat at the 2016 election. Following the election he filed an election petition against successful candidate Ali'imalemanu Alofa Tuuau,^[9] but withdrew it after pressure from his constituency and Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi.^[10][11] He attempted to run in the 2021 election but was declared ineligible as a candidate after the court ruled he had failed to render monotaga (service) to the constituency.^[12]

References

1. Michael Field (10 July 2006). "Convict now in Samoan cabinet". Dominion-Post – via EBSCOHost.
2. "Deported MP came back illegally". New Zealand Herald. 13 August 2006. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
3. "Samoan MP admits previous criminal conviction". RNZ. 6 July 2006. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
4. "FAAALIGA MANINO O LE TAUNUUGA O LE FAIGA PALOTA AOAO NA FAIA I LE ASO 4 O MATI LUA AFE SEFULU TASI" (PDF) (in Somali). Samoa Gazette. 14 March 2011. p. 4. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
5. Corbett, Jack; Shiu, Roannie Ng (2014). "Leadership Succession and the High Drama of Political Conduct: Corruption Stories from Samoa" (PDF). Pacific Affairs. 87 (4): 759. doi:10.5509/2014873743. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
6. "Samoa associate minister suspended for misbehaving". RNZ. 4 November 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
7. "Suspended Samoa associate minister reinstated". RNZ. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
8. "THE WAIT IS OVER TO LEARN SAMOA'S NEW FINANCE MINISTER, IT'S TUILAEPA". Samoa News. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
9. "Newly elected Samoa MP faces bribery allegations". RNZ. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
10. "Another Samoa election petition withdrawn". RNZ. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
11. Lanuola Tusani Tupufia (3 April 2016). "Associate Minister wanted". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
12. "Election Runners All Legal". Newsline Samoa. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2022.