Solomon ministers refused bail to take up posts

Two Solomon Islands Cabinet ministers were refused bail today so they could leave prison to take up their posts, the nation’s Magistrate’s Court ruled.

Tourism Minister Nelson Ne’e and Police Minister Charles Dausabea will spend another 14 days in police custody, Magistrate Seri Senaka said.

The two legislators, appointed to the nation’s cabinet by new Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare last Friday, were arrested and charged only days after the April 18 riot in the capital, Honiara.

Both men are accused of helping incite the violence, arson and looting that swept the Solomons’ capital after Snyder Rini’s election as prime minister. He was forced to resign from office eight days later.

The violence saw the city’s Chinatown district torched and forced several hundred Chinese residents to flee the islands.

Dausabea is scheduled to next appear in court on May 23, while Ne’e will reappear on May 24.