Kelesi sworn as new Director of Public Prosecution (DPP)

Andrew Ega Kelesi today was sworn-in as the new and third local Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).

He was the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions since 2019, a position he held until his swearing in as the Director today before the Governor General, Sir David Vunagi at the Government House.

Kelesi is an experienced lawyer with more than 15 years as a prosecutor.

At 39, Kelesi is the youngest lawyer to hold the position. After completing Form 7 at KGVI in 2003, he was awarded a SIG scholarship to do lawstudies at the University of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby in 2004. He completed his Law degree in 2007 and graduated in 2008.

He spent another year in 2008 to undergo his legal training studies at the Legal Training Institute in Port Moresby and graduates in November 2008 with a certificate in legal practice and subsequently admitted to practice at the National Court of Papua New Guinea in November 2008.

In 2009, he returned to the Solomon Islands and joined the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions as a senior legal officer. In 2013, after the office opened its provincial office in Gizo Western Province, he was tasked to look after the office and by then, promoted to the position of the principal legal officer. In 2017, he was recalled to join the head office in Honiara as the Chief Legal Officer responsible for courts.

In 2018, he took up further studies at the University of Newcastle Law School in Australia to do his Master degree. In 2019, he completed his Master’s degree and graduated with an LLM (Master degree). Upon his return to the Public Prosecutions Office, he was promoted to the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, a position he held until his swearing in as the Director today

 He is the youngest and the only third Solomon Islander to occupy the position. The first two were former Deputy Chief Justice, Francis Mwanesalua, and the current High Court Puisne Judge, Ronald Bei Talasasa Jr.

Mr Kelesi represents the ODPP in various regional and international Meetings and Workshops. As part of his professional development, he did short legal attachments with the New South Wales Director of the Public Prosecutions Office in Sydney, Australia, in 2012, and later in 2015 with the Northern Territory Public Prosecutions Office in Darwin.

From –Afufu in North Malaita, where he spent his primary school. He went on to Adaua for five years before doing forms 6 and 7 at KGVI.