Colonel Ratu Meli Saubulinayau is a former Fijian career soldier, who, as of January 2006, headed the Strategic Unit in Suva.
[1][2][3] On 31 October 2006, while Bainimarama was in Egypt visiting Fijian forces on peacekeeping duties in the Middle East, President Ratu Josefa Iloilo accepted government counsel by moving to terminate the Bainimarama's command.
[4][5] Senior Fijian military officers publicly backed Bainimarama who reiterated previous calls for the government to resign.
Saubulinayau was subsequently sent on leave pending an investigation[6] into alleged insubordination, in connection with the attempted dismissal of Bainimarama.
[4] Ratu Meli Saubulinayau is from the chiefly village of Tubou, on Lakeba, making him a member of the Vuanirewa, the ruling household of the Lau Islands