Hawke’s Bay man jailed for slavery and human trafficking to appeal conviction

Both the prosecution and the defense have filed appeals regarding the historic imprisonment of a Hawke’s Bay horticultural contractor on slavery and human trafficking charges.

66-year-old Joseph Auga Matamata, also known as Viliamu Samu, has lived in the Hastings suburb of Camberley from his Samoan village.

He was sentenced in Napier High Court at the end of July to 11 years in prison for crimes of more than 25 years involving Samoan nationals who he brought to New Zealand to work for him.

He had denied 13 accusations of slave trade and 11 of human trafficking, involving 13 complainants.

A jury found him guilty on all but one count when a five-week trial ended in mid-March.

Crown Law in Wellington has filed an appeal against the sentence that Judge Helen Cull’s starting point for determining the sentence was manifestly inadequate and that there should have been a minimum period without parole, equivalent to at least half of the sentence final.

The defense also filed an appeal this week, based on legal aspects of the trial and the judge’s instructions and decisions on the admissibility of some evidence.

Radio New Zealand reported a short statement from Crown Law confirming its position: “The Crown has appealed against the sentence imposed on Mr. Matamata. The Crown contests both the length of the sentence as manifestly inadequate and the absence of a minimum period. prison, “Crown Law said.

Russell Fairbrother QC, a high-profile veteran and semi-retired Napier attorney, who is not involved in the case but who in addition to his legal career held various roles in legal matters during six years as a Member of Parliament, including chairmanship of a committee To review the Evidence Act, he said it was “inevitable” that there would be appeals given the historical nature of the indictment.

No one had previously been prosecuted in New Zealand for a combination of slavery and human trafficking offenses, and Fairbrother said there were “areas” of the law that had not been explored before.

Legal sources had told Hawke’s Bay Today before the trial that the appeals would likely be almost whatever the outcome, bringing the matter before the higher authority of the multiple judges on the Court of Appeals.

Regarding the defense appeal, Fairbrother said that since Matamata had denied the charges and given testimony in court upholding his position, “clearly” he would not have been satisfied with the result, and it was equally inevitable that the result would be contested. .

The Crown is appealing his 11-year sentence, saying it is “manifestly inadequate.”

Detective Inspector Mike Foster previously acknowledged the victims, saying it was “incredibly brave to come forward and give evidence against a matai, a boss, they did an incredible job.”

He said the victims were emotionally and physically abused and “went through a terrible experience.”

The now 66-year-old, holder of the title of head of the Matai family in Samoa, had arrived in New Zealand some 40 years ago and lived in the Hastings suburb of Camberley.

At trial, Judge Helen Cull said the victim impact statements of the 13 victims showed a thread of cultural shame for not receiving payment and not being able to return money to Samoa for their families, and now unable to return to New Zealand because of their situation. Immigration status.

Crown prosecutor Clayton Walker requested a sentence of 15 to 16 years. Defense attorney Roger Philip suggested a starting point of 13-14 years, discounted by two years to reflect forfeiture and redress.