Fiji rebels had planned to kill then prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry and his cabinet in their homes the night before the May 2000 coup, says the girlfriend of convicted coup leader George Speight.
Torika Rawlinson told the University of the South Pacific newspaper Wansolwara the coup could have been a
lot worse.
"The night before the takeover, there were plans that the cabinet members of the deposed government were supposed to have been executed in their homes," she said.
Rawlinson claimed Speight had now "given his life to the Lord".
Last month, Speight was convicted of treason and is now serving life imprisonment.
Meanwhile Speight's brother Samisoni has won a seat in the Legislative Assembly through a byelection for the seat Speight won last September.
He was stripped of the seat for failing to attend Parliament and now cannot sit in Parliament as he is a convicted criminal.
Samisoni Speight has called for the release of his brother.
