15 Facts About Jimmy Lusibaea

Jimmy Lusibaea became involved in the severe ethnic conflicts on Guadalcanal and Malaita in the early 2000s.

Jimmy Lusibaea has been described as a "warlord", and was one of the leaders of the Malaita Eagle Force, an armed ethnic militia formed to fight for the interests of Malaitan migrants facing expulsion from Guadalcanal.

Jimmy Lusibaea surrendered in 2003 when an international peacekeeping force, RAMSI, arrived in the Solomons.

Jimmy Lusibaea was arrested, accused of several crimes, including having taken part in the attempted murder of bank manager Moses Garu; charges on that count were dropped when "witnesses failed to testify".

Jimmy Lusibaea was convicted for a robbery committed in 2000, and given a five-year sentence.

Jimmy Lusibaea began his political career by standing in the North Malaita constituency in the August 2010 general election.

Jimmy Lusibaea was elected, and appointed Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources in Prime Minister Danny Philip's government.

Solomon Islands needs enthusiastic leaders like Mr Jimmy Lusibaea who are keen to learn and to carry out their official obligations to the best of their ability.

Consequently, as it appeared Jimmy Lusibaea was no longer barred from occupying his seat, he resumed his functions in Parliament.

The ruling came just as the Prime Minister had announced he intended for Jimmy Lusibaea to resume his functions as Fisheries Minister - a decision rendered impossible by his renewed exclusion from Parliament.

Days after being excluded from Parliament once more, Jimmy Lusibaea donated SI$74,700 to meet the tuition fees of all twenty-six students from his erstwhile constituency who were currently studying at the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education.

Jimmy Lusibaea explained that he wished to assist and "serve the future leaders of North Malaita".

Jimmy Lusibaea was returned to Parliament in the 2014 general election as an independent member, and was appointed Minister for Infrastructure Development by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in late October 2015.

Jimmy Lusibaea was sacked from the government on 4 August 2017, and told he had not done enough to resolve the poor state of roads in the country.

Jimmy Lusibaea had pleaded guilty to awarding his own company two government contracts, one to carry out road maintenance work and one to sell a side lifter truck to the Solomon Islands Ports Authority.