Widow seeks justice

A widowed landlord who has been seeking justice for being harassed by an illegal tenant since last year, has desperately turned to media to seek support.

Kila Billy from Tatana village is fighting over her right to the ownership of her house, a duplex owned by her and her late husband located at Hohola 3, in Port Moresby.

Kila Billy was seeking assistance from Hohola police when this newsroom caught up with her. She is being assisted by a Human Rights Defender and Village Court Magistrate, Linda Tule. She is also assisting the family get legal action.

Billy said the person who was a tenant, moved in on the property with only a verbal agreement with the landlord’s late husband in February, 2020 and had since stopped paying the rentals in August 2020.
The tenant is alleged to have barged into her home last week and attacked her and her family, almost causing physical harm. 

Billy said the alleged illegal tenant owes the family K14,000 in unpaid rentals. Instead of paying this up, he has been demanding the widow and her family to move out and relocate to Tatana, claiming that the house belongs to him.  
He has been putting claim on the house for a compensation claim he placed on the widow for a boy girl relationship between both families. 

However, Tule as a Village Court Magistrate in the city said such cases are common now in the city where helpless landlords are being bullied by tenants who use unreasonable reasons to forcefully take over their properties. 

Attempts by this newsroom to get a response from the alleged illegal tenant have been unsuccessful.

(Image: Linda Tule with landlord Kila Billy and children at Hohola Police station.)

Author: 
Frieda Kana