PNGBLOGS

by PAUL AMATIO To Secure Convictions, Satisfy Public Indignation or Just Going Through The Motions? The recent Waigani Committal Court decision by Magistrate Ernest Wilmot must now be seen as a matter of national interest because it involved the alleged abuse of K80 millions of public funds – money that this country can ill afford to squander, impinged on the reputations of those charged and implicated and also on those who investigated the allegations and made the arrests. The costs of the investigation itself would come close to several million as well, I suspect. The learned magistrate cited “abuse of process” as the reason for dismissing the entire 22 charges. So this means that in not a single of these 22 charges did the investigators fail to abuse the process. It would have been enlightening indeed if His Worship had made mention of exactly what process was abused or how the abuse of process occurred. I suppose we will have to find out if and when this matter is appealed. We are

by WAIGANI INSIDER The PM and his advisors aren’t dumb.  As it became more apparent what an economic mess the government had gotten PNG into, they were clear that more people would start speaking out. When anticorruption activist Noah Anjo organized his protests last year and MP Don Polye followed, the PM knew that he had to act fast.   The word was sent out not to allow any protests that were against the PM (this did not extend to TI protests. PM believes that TI protests aren’t any threat to his power and by allowing them to continue, he can say that he supports efforts to fight corruption).    The PM effectively keeps his MPs bought off but he fears public outrage.  Last October was the first serious threat to the PM’s authority, when Noah Anjo organized a protest march from Jack Pidik park to Parliament to support a vote of no confidence on the PM.   Anjo’s request for a protest permit was also turned down.  When Anjo got a court order allowing the protest, the PM knew tha

by SONJA BARRY RAMOI IN THE SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE of Papua New Guinea, Attorney General & Minister for Justice Ano Pala’s application for orders to restrain the then Commissioner of Police Geoffrey Vaki and the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary from arresting him was heard by His Honour Justice George Manuhu earlier this week, over a two day period, on Tuesday the 27th & Wednesday the 28th of October 2015. In the matter listed as ‘SCM NO. 26 OF 2015’, His Worship Presiding Magistrate Cosmas Bidar was named as First Respondent, the then Commissioner of Police Geoffrey Vaki as Second Respondent, and The Independent State of Papua New Guinea as Third Respondent. In handing down his Ruling, His Honour Justice Manuhu cited the following cases: Wari Mugining v R [1975] PNGLR 352, Rimbink Pato v Anthony Manjin (1999) SC62, Eremas Wartoto v The State (2015) SC1411; and stated: “This is an application by the Appellant made pursuant to Section 5 (1) (b) of the Supreme Court