Relatives of the late Bau Primary School teacher say they were not involved in the incident which led to the Madang uprising.
The late Sam Gawi, from Ialibu, was viciously attacked and killed on Tuesday, April 3.
The nine-member group made up of his immediate relatives, including two pastors, said they only went to Madang to repatriate the body of their loved one.
They had gone down to request that the head of their relative be returned for them to carry out a decent burial.
Spokesperson William Wiru said rumours of them coming down in busloads to fight with Madang locals was incorrect and untrue.
The head belonging to the late teacher was presented to the governor on the night of April 12 following negotiations between the governor’s office, Member for Madang Bryan Kramer and villagers at Dalam village.
Arrangements will be made following a postmortem for the late Gawi’s body to be flown into Mt. Hagen, where it will be received by relatives and taken to his home village in Yamala, Southern Highlands Province.