Arrests at the Palace on "statehood" day

Or admissions day, which should be about admissions of the wrongs done...

Kimo Akaka, aka Akahi Nui, who has for years claimed to be the king of Hawaii but who isn't widely recognized as such even among sovereignty proponents, entered 'Iolani Palace Friday evening with a group of supporters and tried to seat himself on the throne. A bit of a comedy of errors as they apparently couldn't find the throne room as they'd never been to the palace before. I mean come on, it's open for tours, I've been in the throne room several times over the years. (As an aside, I remember when Abigail Kawananakoa, was heavily criticized for sitting on the throne for a photo shoot, not just because of the presumption of sitting on the throne, but also because its still original fabric is apparently very fragile and could be easily torn.)

Akahi and 22 others were arrested. Meanwhile there was apparently a dispute over who among the illegal state/city government, the actual occupiers, is supposed to have jurisdiction over the palace, as the original 911 call and a plea for help from an employee was unheeded by a police sergeant. And now the governor is asking the AG to investigate both incidents. So a bit of comedy of errors on both sides.

Star-Bulletin reports on the incident, and reactions from some others in the movement, which kind of reflect how I feel, namely that I don't recognize Akahi as the king but I support actions that help raise awareness of Hawaii's illegal occupation. And there's a piece on how they couldn't find the throne room with some more background on Akahi. And here's the Advertiser article and some photos. This AP article has gone far and wide in syndication.

As for his claim to be king, tracing his genealogy back to being a grandnephew of Queen Liliuokalani is meaningless, constitutionally. Here's the operative article from the Constitution (this is from the 1887 "Bayonet" constitution, but the 1864 version is the same except for the name(s) of the royal family being updated in the 1887 version):

ARTICLE 22.

The Crown is hereby permanently confirmed to His Majesty Kalakaua, and to the Heirs of His body lawfully begotten, and to their lawful Descendants in a direct line; failing whom, the Crown shall descend to Her Royal Highness the Princess Liliuokalani, and the heirs of her body, lawfully begotten, and their lawful descendants in direct a line. The Succession shall be to the senior male child, and to the heirs of his body; failing a male child, the succession, shall be to the senior female child, and to the heirs of her body. In case there is no heir as above provided, the successor shall be the person whom the Sovereign shall appoint with the consent of the Nobles, and publicly proclaim during the Sovereign's life; but should there be no such appointed and proclamation, and the Throne should become vacant, then the Cabinet, immediately after the occurring of such vacancy, shall cause a meeting of the Legislature, who shall elect by ballot some native Alii of the Kingdom as Successor to the Throne; and the Successor so elected shall become a new Stirps for the Royal Family; and the Succession from the Sovereign thus elected, shall be regulated by the same law as the present Royal Family of Hawaii.

There are no direct "lawfully begotten" heirs to either Kalakaua or Liliuokalani (Liliuokalani had no children, Kalakaua had children but not with Kapiolani). Akahi says he is a descendent of Lili'uokalani and Kalakaua's sister, but the constitution does not provide for this. Princess Ka'iulani was appointed as heir but she had no heirs herself, and no one else was ever appointed with the consent of the Nobles and publicly proclaimed. In this case, only election by the legislature can selected the new monarch. This did in fact happen twice in Hawaii's history, the second time with Kalakaua. But it hasn't happened yet. So nothing against Akahi personally, but I just don't see how his claim to the throne has any legal foundation in Hawaiian constitutional law.

Nevertheless, he's taking action for what he believes in and raising awareness of Hawaii situation, and I respect that.

Posted: Sun - August 17, 2008 at 12:28 PM

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Arrests at the Palace on "statehood" day

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