The High Court has found the man who blew the whistle on possible financial impropriety at the Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust acted with integrity and in accordance with his duty as a trustee.
Toni Waho was removed from the trust's board by fellow trustees in November 2014, High Court Judge Karen Clark said. He is a former director of the Atihau Whanganui Incorporation and former principal of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Mana Tamariki in Palmerston North.
He had been a trustee of the national Te Kōhanga Reo body for eight years when he went to the minister and associate minister of education behind the board's back to tell them of allegations of financial impropriety in the board and its financial arm, Te Pātaka Ōhanga. His fellow trustees said that had brought the trust into disrepute, and removed him from office.
That had a huge impact on Waho's life and health. His case was heard in the High Court last year.
He went to the court to get a determination on whether he had brought the trust into disrepute, and whether his removal from the board was lawful.