Major General Mark Goina remains as NEC-appointed Commander in Chief of the PNG Defence Force. Commander Goina and Solicitor General Tauvasa Tanuvasa established this in a media conference today.
On December 31, 2021, the former Commander, Major General Gilbert Toropo filed a judicial review proceeding at the National Court, over his revocation as PNGDF Commander, and Commander Goina’s appointment as the new Commander of the PNGDF.
“The orders of the 31st of December 2021 has now been stayed,” said Solicitor General Tauvasa Tanuvasa. “That means that we are now in a situation as if the National Court proceedings were never filed in the first place.”
The Solicitor General added that the NEC-appointed Commander of the PNGDF is Major General Goina, and he remains as Commander without question.
On January 5 2022, the Supreme Court set aside the National Court’s stay order on the appointment of Major General Goina, as Commander PNGDF. He is now legally entitled to the NEC appointment and has the liberty to discharge the functions of Commander PNGDF.
“I will make sure that the outgoing Commander, Retired Major General Gilbert Toropo, is accorded the departure protocol and administration that he is entitled to,” said Commander Goina.
“My family and I thank God for blessing me with the leadership of our beloved organisation, and thank the Marape-Basil Government for their confidence in my capacity to command PNGDF,” he added. “You have given me the immediate task of restoring the discipline, capability and operational effectiveness of PNGDF.”
