'Slavery' ordeal over for Tongan rugby star Finau Maka

Finau Maka. Photo / Facebook

PARIS - Tongan rugby star Finau Maka shed tears of relief on Tuesday (Wednesday NZ time) after he emerged from a French court with his name cleared of allegations that he had "enslaved" an illegal migrant who lived and worked at his Toulouse home for four years.

The 33-year-old backrower said he was "just overwhelmed" at the end of a five-month ordeal which began with a 24-hour spell in police custody and descended into a trial marked by emotional scenes of accusation and denial.

"I am totally relieved," Maka told journalists outside Toulouse court, where he came to hear the verdict. "My name is now cleared. The last couple of months have been hectic for both me and my family."

Maka told the Herald he had stayed inside for the first few weeks after he was charged.

"Toulouse is a rugby town and it was everywhere and it felt like it was going to go on forever. I am just really happy that finally it is over and done with."

Maka said the allegations had also been difficult for his wife, who was "over the moon" he had been cleared.

"It was my wife who did all the shopping and stuff and when she went out it was hard (for her) because people would be staring at her and that didn't go down nicely. I was in the paper and all that and people knew she was my wife and people would just stare.

"Now she's happy to be over and done with it and happy to move on with our lives."

The trial focussed on allegations that Maka illegally hired, housed and abused an undocumented Tunisian man at his home in the Toulouse suburb of Beauzelle, where he carried out renovation and then decoration work.

The Tunisian, Moncef Derbali, said he had been "Finau's slave for four years," forced to live in a tiny brick hut at the bottom of the garden and be at his beck and call. Apart from a one-off payment of 2,800 euros (NZ$ 5,180) to his mother, Maka never made good on his promises to pay him, Derbali said.

Maka said he was dismayed at the charges, contending that he had only sought to help a man who was homeless and in need. Derbali, he said, had lived like a member of his family. "As a Tongan, it is part of our culture to care and help people in need," he told the court.

At a trial session in September, the public prosecutor agreed that Maka was not guilty of slavery but urged the court to convict him on a count of illegal labour and fine him 5,000 euros (NZ$9,250).

The court ruled on Tuesday (Wednesday NZ time) that there was insufficient evidence to support this charge, lawyers for both sides said.

"Finau Maka has been discharged. I simply cannot understand this decision," Derbali's lawyer, Eric Zerbib, told the Herald, adding he would ask the public prosecutor if he intended to appeal. An appeal can be filed within 10 days.

Derbali himself "feels bewilderment and disgust," Zerbib added.

Maka, a former NZ Super 14 player characterised by combative play and an afro hairstyle, played for the leading French club Stade Toulousain for nine seasons, helping them to notch up a string of titles nationally and in Europe. He signed in August with a second division side, Aix-en-Provence.