Dear Editor, First of all, Susan Love has zero support from the blood descendants of Makea Apera to hold the Makea Ariki Title. ZERO!

Clearly her micky mouse investiture will be invalid when it hits the courts. I feel bad for the Ngati Makea people. They are most welcome to fact check and read our court decisions. 

Court decisions are now very clear, the Kopu Ariki are the descendants of Rangi Makea, Upokotokoa, Sadaraka and Mere.

Although the decision mention primogeniture as a starting point which we all know is not part of our custom but introduced by the missionaries, our tradition was always the strongest became leaders. Anyway, in the same decision the Kopu Ariki is clearly not locked into supporting primogeniture, they have the right to choose anyone from amongst themselves if they so wish. ONLY the Kopu Ariki have the right to choose a new Makea Ariki full stop.

Susan Love was part of the above Court of Appeal case and clearly told the court that Rangimakea didn’t have children and adopted her great grandfather Tinirau and Tearikituanu from his sister Mere.

The other quarter of the Tinirau line is claiming Tapumanoanoa was the mother of Tinirau and not Mere.  Unfortunately, Tinirau’s birth certificate show Tapetukura as the natural father. Tinirau by the way went on and succeeded Tapetukura’s lands in Arorangi. He also succeeded 40 acres of Fanaura’s lands from the Karika tribe claiming he was adopted by him from birth. Makes you wonder when did Rangimakea adopt him as claimed by Susan Love.

The question is who really gave birth to Tinirau? Mere or Tapumanoanoa? Just to add to the fiasco, Rangimakea was married to Tia daughter of Tamaiva.

After Rangimakea died, Tinirau brought in Tamarua Moeua alias Tuara who was Rangimakea’s brother in-law to be the other son of Rangimakea and now some of his descendants are claiming to be the other half of Rangimakea’s descendants. For the record, Tamarua would have been Tinirau's stepfather as Tamarua was at the time with Mere, Tinirau’s alleged mother as claimed by Susan Love. It was really at this point I realised the magnitude of the fraud.

Tamarua was at one time married to Ngapia (from Mangaia) and their descendants are today claiming to be the other half of Rangimakea (despite no legal connection to Rangimakea). The same Tamarua had a daughter Tuvaine to Mere and her descendants are today the Mere line.

As I write, the Rangimakea line has no descendants blood or adopted. It appears fraudulent claims and fake identities have been made to the court over the years including land claims. The Rangimakea descendant claimants have yet to come up with some legal connection to Rangimakea. All they have up to now is NOTHING and are relying on court evidence of fraudulent land claims. Tragic because all that can be revoked. Lies only last for as long as the ignorant is unaware.

It took us 30 years to get to this stage and every hour of those years has been worth it.  

We are no longer illiterate and are very capable of researching and connecting the ugly lies of the past. 

I could continue writing but I’ll leave it for the courts.  

I sincerely hope not too many of the Ngati Makea people will be foolish enough to support Susan Love without a document of the Kopu Ariki signing for her to invest herself because without it, it’s already invalid and a circus.

Kua oti ua ana tatou i te vare i te pikikaa e te tu kamakura, e tuatau marama teia. Can’t say I didn’t warn you.  

Te Atua Te Aroa,

Ellena Tavioni

Upokotokoa Family

Editor’s note – A right of response opportunity was offered to Susan Love yesterday, but she did not respond by the time this edition went to press. Earlier this week, Komono Tinirau Tamarua, while responding to criticism from the three kopu regarding the upcoming Makea Nui Ariki investiture, emphasised that the Makea Ariki title is a sacred one, inherited from the Pa Metua (ancestors), and that its selection process must follow proper traditional protocols by the Pa Metua. He said the first requirement is that the candidate must come from the Mataiapo line – the eldest line. In 2009, a bold proposal was put forward to resolve the long-standing Makea Nui title dispute - a rotation of the title between the four clans of the Kopu Ariki. The idea, aimed at bringing unity and an end to decades of contention. The proposal was contrary to the long-established protocol whereby the Makea Nui is chosen from Rangi Makea who is the eldest line.