It is exactly one year tonight when Hanuabada village reeled and anguished over the shooting death of two of its young men in their prime, by gun toting police.
Hanuabada is a stone’s throw away from the PNG police headquarters at Konedobu. The headquarters sits on traditional land ironically owned by Hanuabada.
12 months, the widow of one of the deceased and the parents of the other – have no closure.
No one has been arrested in relation to the deaths of Nicholas Rarua and Toka Gaudi.
“It is rather sad and disappointing that after so many commitments and promises of imminent arrest, we find ourselves with no arrest.”
That’s from Lohia Boe Samuel, who heads the group Motu Koitabu the Way Forward (MKTWF).
MKTWF played a pivotal role during and after the shooting incident to eventually agree to lift a blockade at the Hanuabada bypass, thereby cutting off access to the city’s main fuel depot at Kanudi.
The blockage brought the city to its knees where villagers demanded the quick arrest of the policemen and women involved in the shooting.
The initial investigations started off slow with Geoffrey Vaki as Police Commissioner then and Andy Bawa heading NCD police.
The lack of arrests then was seen by the public as an attempt to cover up and protect police officers involved in the crime.
Efforts have been renewed only recently after a change of guard and Lohia says MKTWF “is encouraged by the new team of investigators led by the new head of CID, Moses Ipsagi.
“Ipsagi has assured me they have one or two suspects and arrests will be made soon.”
The parents and families of the deceased have been advised.
He said together with the parents of the deceased, we will see Mr Ipsagi and hopefully the Metropolitan Superintendant, Ben Turi to get an update on the investigations.
Turi has given his full support to the ongoing investigations after Commissioner Gari Baki declared initial investigations inconclusive.
New evidence and eye witness statements are being gathered, weapons are being examined and flaws uncovered and rectified in the new investigations.
Ipsagi said recently statements by police officers at the time were the same, duplicated and shared and submitted to investigators.
A total of seven new police weapons have been resubmitted to investigators with three outstanding.
Numerous bullet shells and casings have been submitted by villagers to the new investigation team.
One villager said this is justice denied to the families of the two men killed and there needs to be a specific time frame by which arrests must be made.
“12 months is too long and this is a disgrace to the Police force,’’ the villager said.