Back in 2005, Mel Gibson purchased the Mago island, Northern Fiji, for $15 million.He bought it from Tokyu Corporation, a Japanese hotel chain.But a tribe from Namalata, a neighbouring island, claimed that they are the rightful owners of the 5,411 acre island. Yavusa Vuaniivi, the tribe, also claimed that their ancestors were forced to leave Mago in the 19th century, violently. And because of that the sale has no validity.
The island is presently home to 35 sugar plantation workforce and their families.
So far, however, the authorities have refused to get involved. "The government cannot do anything because it is a freehold property," said Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase of Fiji.
"The sale was between the owner who has found a willing buyer."