On the morning of Monday 24 May, Samoa’s chief justice arrived at the country’s parliament to swear in a new government, only to find the doors firmly locked. He stood momentarily, then turned around and walked back to the courthouse, followed by the entire judiciary.
It was a moment that would stay with me: 45 days after Samoa’s general election – the deadline for swearing in a new government – it was confirmation that the country’s caretaker government had disregarded the highest legal authority of the land in order to prevent a peaceful transition of power.
The locked doors indicated that the outgoing government did not respect the decision of the supreme court to the extent that it was willing to stop the swearing-in of a new government – among which was to be the nation’s first female prime minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa.
