Award-winning novelist and poet Sia Figiel has died in mysterious circumstances in Samoa. Photo / File
Award-winning novelist and poet Sia Figiel has died in mysterious circumstances in Samoa. Photo / File
Samoan police are investigating after celebrated author and poet Sia Figiel was found dead in a prison cell near Apia.
Her body was found shortly after 6am on Monday, according to local media.
Figiel – who held the chiefly title of Papāli’i – had won several awards forher literature, which was translated into many languages.
She studied at the University of Auckland and overseas and travelled widely – including completing several international writers’ residencies.
Her debut novel Where We Once Belonged – a coming-of-age story set in 1970s Samoa – won the 1997 Best First Book award in the Southeast Asia/South Pacific section of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. It was later adapted into a stage play with the same name.
Sia Figiel was an award-winning writer whose works were celebrated around the Pacific.
Gabbard’s body was discovered at Figiel’s home in the village of Vaivase-Uta. She was an aunt of American politician and United States Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard – the first Samoan-American to reach Congress.
Figiel had pleaded not guilty to five charges, including murder, and was awaiting her next Supreme Court hearing.
Samoa’s Acting Police Commissioner, Leiataua Samuelu Afamasaga, has told Samoan media that Figiel was the prisoner found dead in a cell at the Tanumalala Prison facility.
Authorities have not released a cause of death and Samoan police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the author’s death.
In a press conference today, Leiataua said Figiel had been in a cell by herself in the women’s section of the prison. Her cell was next to another that had several female prisoners inside at the time.
He said that although investigations are ongoing, initial inquiries did not show any suspicious activity.
Figiel’s body has since been transferred to a hospital morgue. A decision on whether or not a post-mortem examination will be carried out is not yet known, Talamua Media reported.
Figiel’s works are well-known and respected around the Pacific and in New Zealand, where they have been published over the years. Her poetry and writing have been taught in schools.
Since news of her death, many people have paid tribute to Figiel via social media.
Vaimoana Mase is the Pasifika editor for the Herald’s Talanoa section, sharing stories from the Pacific community. She won junior reporter of the year at the then Qantas Media Awards in 2010 and won the best opinion writing award at the 2023 Voyager Media Awards.
