The case not only attributed to the high-profile standards of the Harawira family, but also due to the complexity involved in historical cases of historical abuse, little evidence and vague memories, the case triggered a shock wave across New Zealand.
After two weeks of long retrial, Teyava was convicted in six of six of the nine charges against him in Auckland District Court.
The case aroused national imagination after Taiawa was arrested in 2020, following the plaintiff’s legal complaint against him in the 1950s (2019-50s).
The complaint was filed against Taiawa Harawira, accusing him of being 8-12 years old in the late 1970s to the 1980s. The complaint also mentions the complex and repeated rape patterns of Wagayeri, North, North, Avondale, in his 20s.
“I know what this is. I’ve been waiting for 30 years,” Taiawa reportedly told detectives when he was arrested on 44 charges against him. The statement is said to show his approval of the charges. The first trial of the case began in early 2024. During the trail, 19 charges were dropped due to lack of evidence, while the jury was not guilty of three charges and a deadlock against 22 others. This led to a 2025 retrial, in which a new jury found Taiawa guilty of six charges (including two counts of rape and four counts of violation of battery) and acquitted him. The same judgment will be held in June 2025.
During the whole process, Taiawa pleaded guilty. His legal team focused on how the allegations were, just a “fabricated” lie story that dates back to the plaintiff’s childhood and had a dispute with his mother, defending the situation of bad behavior.
The final response from Taiawa’s team was that the case “absolutely confuses emotions and prejudice.”
Taiawa’s brother Hone Harawira is a three-term member of the New Zealand Parliament and an outstanding member of the Te Pati Maori Party. Hone withdrew from the Maori Party in 2011, forming another political costume spell party and won a term as a member of Congress.
