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Tahiti claimant seeks title
First court sitting of the year
Tahiti claimant seeks title
Thu
14 Jan
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Oti Oti, who lives in Tahiti, is one of those claiming for the vacant Makea Nui title.
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One of the claimants for Rarotonga’s chiefly Makea Nui title says one needs to go deeper into Tahitian history to find out the real story behind the title.
Oti Oti, who is of Maukean descent and has been in the country for the last three weeks, has been residing in French Polynesia since 1970.
Oti claims that the original Makea descends from a chief – Teariinohorahi I – from neighbouring Bora Bora and Taha’a, who was the father of Teariinohorahi II, who was the father of Tavita who was born in Rarotonga around 1820.
Oti says his great-great-grandfather – Tavita – did not hold the Makea title and it is around the time of the arrival of the gospel in the 1820s that the title began going all over the place.
He believes the Tepatuakino [or Te Pa Atua Kino] genealogy – upon which most claimants base their claims for the title and which is recorded in the land court – is flawed, and those connected with the church were responsible for putting titles on people.
He says since then different names have appeared for various people since then.
Oti says some people refer to Tavita as Pori and Teariinohorahi II as Tinomana Makea who held the title in the early 1800s.
Oti traces his Makea line through to Tavita’s first born Putuariki (Oti’s great grandfather) who married Uratua, of Mauke. They lived in Mauke where his descendants including Oti were raised.
Oti says when he returns to Tahiti he will continue his research and prepare to make a claim in the land division of the high court.
The Makea title has been the longest running saga of title disputes stretching back to the early part of last century. Following the death of the title-holder in 1994, three people were invested with the title, however all their claims were declared void by the High court.
Last year Stanley Adam Hunt filed his application to the high court to be confirmed as Makea Nui Takaia Tutavake Ariki after being invested with the title, and in 2008 Yolande Browne, the daughter of a previous unsuccessful claimant William Parau Browne, lodged an application to succeed and hold the Makea Nui Ariki title.
First court sitting of the year
Fri
15 Jan
Daniel Mare – previously pleaded not guilty to burglary but appeared in court yesterday to assess whether he had legal representation.
The defendant still did not have a lawyer and the court heard from the prison warden that no one wanted to represent him or his fellow inmate, Putere Dean.
Police prosecutor senior sergeant Tuaine Manavaroa suggested they proceed with a defended hearing and for Mare to represent himself.
Justice of the peace Ina Tautu adjourned the matter to January 18 for a trial date to be set and the defendant was returned to custody.
Putere Dean – previously pleaded not guilty to an unlawful taking charge. Dean had also been given time to seek legal advice but appeared with no lawyer.
JP Tautu stood the case down for 10 minutes to discuss if the defendant was eligible for legal aid. When court resumed, Dean requested to change his plea to not guilty to guilty. The case was adjourned to January 28 for sentencing. The defendant was returned to custody.
Daniel Hewitt – pleaded guilty to fighting in a public place. The case was adjourned to January 21.
Joe Teokotai Raukete – pleaded not guilty to a breach of his probation conditions. Police accuse him of being abroad outside his curfew hours of 7am to 7pm. Case was adjourned to January 28 for a trial to be set.
Taaopua Taripo – pleaded guilty to disqualified driving. The 24-year-old was convicted of excess breath alcohol on December 23 last year and disqualified from driving for 12 months. The defendant was caught by police driving on New Year’s Eve night.
Before sentencing, Taripo asked for a conditional licence for work. Manavaroa said under the transport act those eligible to apply for a conditional licence must serve six months of their sentence first.
The defendant was fined $100 and $30 court costs.
James Okirua – pleaded guilty to breach of his probation conditions. He was found to be abroad outside his 7am to 7pm curfew. The defendant was convicted and sentenced to pay $40 and $30 court costs. This was the third time he breached his probation conditions.
“This is your final warning next time it will be prison,” JP Tautu said.
Tangatatutai Ngatupuna – was charged with assaulting a female. He pleaded guilty and will reappear in court on March 5 for sentencing.
Tangimetua Tangimetua and Tereapii Ngaata – both pleaded guilty to fighting in a public place.
Police said the pair were involved along with two others in a fight outside Staircase on December 26.
The matter was adjourned to February 3 for sentencing while a bench warrant was issued for the other two allegedly involved.
Sema Aporo Robati – entered no plea to a excess breath alcohol charge. The defendant asked the court for the case to be adjourned in order for him to seek legal counsel. The matter will be heard again on January 28.
Maine Marae-Rua Narnia – pleaded guilty of careless driving. The 16-year-old was charged $50 and $30 court costs.
Metua John – pleaded guilty to driving with excess breath alcohol and possession of cannabis. Manavaroa said on January 3, the defendant recorded a breath test result of 710mcg/l. He was also found to have cannabis on him. For the EBA charge he was disqualified from driving and fined $200 and $30 court costs. He is to reappear in court on March 12 for sentencing on the possession charge.
Nathaniel Kumal – pleaded guilty to theft of a bottle of Jim Beam from Friendly Mart in Arorangi. The defendant was ordered to surrender his passport to the registrar and will be sentenced on February 3.
Tuakana Samuel – pleaded guilty to wilful damage of nine hedge plants in Titikaveka in October last year.
Manavaroa said the plants were damaged by fire which the defendant admitted to lighting.
“Reparations are requested for $12 for the plants,” the police prosecutor said.
Samuel told the court he approached the victim to apologise but it wasn’t accepted.
“I’m going to plant the new hedges,” he said.
JP Tautu ordered him to pay the $12 and come up for sentencing within six months.
Edwin Ashin Taoro – pleaded guilty to careless driving. The 26-year-old admitted falling asleep and driving his Toyota Celica into rocks in Blackrock last week. Police said the defendant had been drinking that evening but stopped several hours to be sober driver for his friends.
Taoro was ordered to pay $100 and $30 court costs.
Trevor Manuel – was convicted for excess breath alcohol. The return breath test result was 520 mcg/l. The legal limit is 400mcg/l. Manuel was disqualified from driving for 12 months and fined $200 and $30 court costs.
Matapakia Aurupa – pleaded guilty to assault on female. The defendant admitting hitting his pregnant girlfriend, however she requested for the charge to be dropped.
She told the court they have children together and another on the way and Aurupa was the only one supporting the family.
JP Tautu ordered the defendant to come up for sentencing within six months.
Tutai Amiri Jnr – convicted for excess breath alcohol. He recorded a breath test result of 410mcg/l. The defendant was disqualified for 12 months and fined $200 and $30 court costs.
Cameron Henry – pleaded not guilty to careless driving. The case was adjourned to January 28 for a defended hearing to be set.
Rahui Enoka – was convicted of excess breath alcohol. He apologised to the court and was fined $200 and $30 court costs. Enoka was disqualified from driving for 12 months.
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