He 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.
He 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".
[4] Having studied heavy plant mechanics at the Afutara Vocational School, he eventually became managing director of the Lion Heart Company, before going into politics in 2010.
[5] In September 2010, he was charged with "attempted murder with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, assault on a police officer and discharging a firearm in a public place", for crimes allegedly committed in 2001.
[7] Specifically, he was accused of inflicting head injuries on police officer Sam Manekeha, and of shooting civilian Robert Solo in both knees, while a commander in the Malaita Eagle Force.
Abana declared himself impressed with Lusibaea's work as Fisheries Minister, noting his achievement in negotiating with Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, earlier in November, to successfully double the access fee for foreign vessels wishing to fish in Solomon Islands waters.
Abana stated: "Mr Lusibaea's outstanding performance and his continued assistance to community groups touched many hearts and this speaks loud and clear of the totally changed person he is now to what he was during the ethnic tension.
[17][18] Days after being excluded from Parliament once more, 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.
He 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.