On 25 October 2004, Bainimara entered the political fray to criticize the organizing of Fiji Week, a week of religious services and cultural ceremonies that had been held from the 4th through 11 October. He said he found it "baffling" that individuals implicated in the 2000 coup took part in the ceremonies to apologize and ask forgiveness for their actions, only to turn up in court later and plead innocent. He said that according to Fijian culture, an apology was tantamount to a public admission of guilt, and that the "not guilty" pleas later entered by the same people in court raised justifiable questions about whether their apologies were sincere.