Cabinet has endorsed the reappointment of Papali’i John Taimalelagi Afele as Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration (MJCA) for a further three-year term.
The Prime Minister, La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polata’ivao Fosi Schmidt, confirmed the decision during his weekly press conference on Friday 23 January 2026.
Papali’i was first appointed as the ministry’s chief executive from 2016 to 2019, and was appointed again for a three-year term in 2023.
Before serving as chief executive, he held the role of Assistant Chief Executive Officer for the Tuasivi Courts from March 2008 to April 2015. He then served as Assistant Chief Executive Officer for the Lands and Titles Courts at Mulinu’u from April 2015 to January 2016.
Papali’i holds a Bachelor of Laws from Auckland University of Technology. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Management and Public Administration and Economics from the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, and a Certificate of Attainment from the National University of Samoa, awarded in 1999.
The appointment was confirmed in a statement issued by the Government Press Secretariat on Tuesday 26 January 2026.
