Gavuone village

The tribe recently took part in a bride price ceremony at Gavuone village in the Abau district of Central Province, paying for Captain Steward Kadiko’s wife.

After months of planning and preparation, Captain Kadiko has decided to finally pay bride price for his wife as a sign of chieftaincy in his tribe.

Raised in a Nakanai culture, Capt Kadiko always kept his traditional values close to heart.

Last Thursday, he flew in 70 of his tribesmen from Hoskins in West New Britain to witness the occasion.

Justice Panuel Mogish told the father of seven children, John Ware, when sentencing him to 22 years of hard labour in prison.

Ware worked as a community policeman and a security guard at the Treasury office at Kupiano station when he sexually assaulted two girls, one a minor then.

The victims were aged 17 and 14-years-old at the time of the offense.

The 39-year-old from Gavuone village, Central Province, pleaded guilty to the offense on Oct 11 and was sentenced last Friday by Justice Mogish.