Two dead in land disputes in Wewak

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Two dead in land disputes in Wewak

PORT MORESBY: Two murders, related to ongoing land disputes, were reported in East Sepik’s Wewak on Monday, Border commander Assistant Commissioner Peter Philip says.

“The murders occurred between 6.30pm and 7pm in town,” he added.

Philip also warned landowners of Ok Tedi Mining Ltd in Western not to disturb mining operations.

The news break was published by The National:

Two dead over land dispute

May 19, 2022The NationalNational

TWO murders, related to ongoing land disputes, were reported in East Sepik’s Wewak on Monday, Border commander Assistant Commissioner Peter Philip says.
“The murders occurred between 6.30pm and 7pm in town,” Philip said.
Gibson Naupa, from Sawarin, confronted youths in the settlement regarding land issues and slashed Manu Caspar, 25, from East Yangoru, on his neck and arms.
Youths then chased Naupa and pelted him with stones and were beating him with sticks.
The youths then chopped up Naupa, beheading him and hanging up the head with a stick with his severed penis.
Later, they burnt Naupa’s remains.
Caspar died in hospital at 8pm.
Police had rushed to the scene to control the tension between the opposing parties and to maintain normalcy.
Philip said witnesses were identified by community leaders from both sides and “we will arrest suspects soon”.

Border commander warns landowners not to disturb mining operations

May 19, 2022The NationalNational

Peter Philip

By GEORGINA KOREI
ASSISTANT Commissioner of Police for Border Command Peter Philip is warning landowners of OK Tedi Mining Ltd in Western to stop disturbing its operations.
Ok Tedi Mining Limited is a 100 per cent state-owned entity with 67 per cent direct shareholding by the Government and Western people entitled to 33 per cent interest.
Philip said the landowners should address their issues with relevant government agencies rather than interfering with the management and operation of the mine.
“Landowners from Ok Tedi mine were all warned to stop the attitude of issuing threats, extortion, intimidation and continuous writing of letters to OK Tedi (management) asking for belkol (peace offering),” he said.
He said with the election approaching, the landowners should not interfere with the mine.
“There should be no more threats issued to the mine, I will have no mercy for the landowners this time if they ignore my warning and go and cause trouble in the mine.”
Philip said most of the landowners were not following court procedures and were involved in illegal activities in bribing police personnel to help them to serve court orders without proper protocols.
“Most of the junior policemen were already implicated with the local landowners and they have been doing illegal activities,” he said.
He said the landowners should follow due process in addressing the issue with the appropriate government officials apart from the authorities of the mine.
“If they (landowners) do not follow the instructions this time, they will be arrested by police,” Philip said.
He added that some landowners were not real landowners as they had claimed.
“Some landowners became landowners to Ok Tedi through convenience marriage so they feel that they were entitled to all the benefits from the mine,” he said.