Waigani National Court

The Waigani National Court on Tuesday afternoon ruled that counting must resume in Mt Hagen, and not Goroka, due to distance and the cost involved in moving ballot boxes as well as scrutineers of candidates from Mendi.

The court also ordered that all counting officials from Mendi must be used in the counting in Mt Hagen, as they already started the electoral process.  

Justice Collin Makail ordered that the newly appointed Returning Officer, Steven Gore Kaupa, who was appointed on August 9, resume counting today and proceed to a declaration soon.

This was the warning Justice Panuel Mogish gave in the Waigani National Court when sentencing a youth to life in prison today.

He said it is sickening to come to court and apologise to families of the deceased in the hope of getting a lesser sentence after being found guilty by the court.

Gibson Maraen was found guilty on May 31 over the wilful murder of Wari Kuni, at Nine-Mile in 2015.

Justice Mogish found Maraen guilty for brutally chopping Kuni on his face and head on 10 December 2015, which resulted in his death.

This was the ruling of the court after incumbent MP, William Powi, went to court, asking it to stop counting progressing to the quality check stage and prevent elimination from starting until 84 rejected ballot boxes, kept in Mendi, are taken to Mt Hagen for counting.

Powi’s lawyer went to court seeking the interim orders which were refused. The Southern Highlands regional seat is one of the only two outstanding electorates where the writs are yet to be returned, despite being one of the first provinces to go to the polls.

Justice Collin Makail today said the subject of the case, the arrest warrant, was not reviewable and was an abuse of the court process.

In dismissing the judicial review, he said the criminal process and procedures should not be stopped by a civil court or proceeding.

He said the criminal process is about fairness and must ensure it is heard in a reasonable time and no miscarriage of justice.

As election winds down, election petition cases are expected to be filed in the Court of Disputed Returns, challenging the outcome of the elections.

The Office of the Registrar of the Supreme and National Courts is expecting large crowds to attend and is now implementing strategies to manage the number of people accessing the court facilities. This is due to the construction underway at the Waigani court complex.

“We have limited space to accommodate the large volume of people we have experienced in the past,” the office of the registrar, Ian Augeria, said in a statement.

He filed an application on Monday afternoon seeking interim orders to restrain O'Neill from taking office, alleging there was an infringement in the constitution when polling was conducted in the electorate on a Sunday.

The urgent application came before court this morning.

Substantively, Liria is asking the court to declare that the public declaration of Peter O'Neill was unconstitutional.

The vehicles were kept as evidence by the Waigani National court following the trial.

The state made an application to have the vehicles returned to its owners yesterday before Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika.

Sir Gibbs ordered for two of the three vehicles to be returned.

The armored vehicle that was used in the robbery will be released to the security firm, G4S, while a blue 10 seater Land Cruiser will also be returned to its owner.

Richard Jason Magiau Namaliu, from the East New Britain Province, was arrested by police on the evening of July 25. He was charged with murder.

It is alleged he was responsible for the death of the late former Miss South Pacific, who tragically passed away on Saturday, February 11. 

The charge is one which bail will have to be sought from the National Court, as the District Court and police do not have the power to allow bail.

This newsroom confirmed with the Waigani National court that bail has been filed.

Mald instructed his lawyers to file the case in the Waigani National Court last week.

His lawyer however, withdrew the application and case when it went before the court. This was because events had overturned and the disputed box was already counted at the time the subject of the case went to court.

The interim relief he was seeking in the application was for the court to stop the counting for one box from the Kinakon rain tree polling area at 12-Mile, outside Port Moresby.

Justice George Manuhu of the Waigani National Court today gave an oral ruling against Jeffery Sheekiot of Madang Province, after he was convicted for one count of wilful murder.

In sentencing him to 30 years, Justice Manuhu took into account that he is a policeman that the public look up to for protection.

He also said the killing of citizens by members of the police force is already prevalent, when sentencing Sheekiot.