Honouring Chief Kants’ life, service to people

HUNDREDS of people came from far and wide to help Chief Kants Kindin celebrate his 90th birthday at Kaming village in Jimi, Jiwaka recently.
They honoured him for his service to the district, province and nation as a soldier, ward councilor and staunch supporter of the church.
Chief Kants was born in 1930. He witnessed the Second World War as a young man.
In 1950, he was taught the Kote language by the Lutheran Church missionaries at Kaming village as part of his formal education.
He got married to his first wife Karke Yesepa in 1956 before leaving the village to join the PNG-Australian Defence Force in 1960.
He was in a company that conducted border patrols and set up early border posts between Vanimo in West Sepik and Wutung in Indonesia.
Being a devout Christian since his childhood days, he negotiated with the missionaries of the Evangelical Brotherhood Church at Mondomil village near Minj, Jiwaka, to establish a church at his Kaming village.
He left the army in 1962 and returned to the village.
In 1973, he was elected councilor for the Munumul ward. He was one of those who pushed for the construction of the Jimi highway.
He was also appointed the Government’s tax collector for Jimi, Waghi and Kambia.
Being a member of the Waghi Council, he was very vocal in the establishment of the Waghi Mek Coffee plantations.
In 1977, he was the first provincial government member for the Nondugl constituency and held different portfolios in the Western Highlands provincial assembly.
Chief Kants helped negotiate the establishment of the Nondugl Health Centre, District Office and roads in the district.
He joined the Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) in 1986 representing the South Waghi, North Waghi and Jimi districts.
In 1989, he formed a peace mediation team in Jiwaka which he is still a member of today.
There were also many people Chief Kant he helped who today have become successful in various areas.
One of them is successful businessman Benjamin Mul who became a member of parliament representing North Waghi in the 2007 general election.
Chief Kants helped bring up Mul, then an abandoned child struggling to survive, through Sunday school, first as a student then a teacher. He recognised the potential and keenness in Mul to further his education.
He took Mul to the Pabrabuk Bible School in Southern Highlands and enrolled him there. The young Mul worked hard and gradually made his way to the top, becoming a successful businessman and an MP for North Waghi.

“ We are celebrating a life that has contributed immensely over time for the good of this generation.”

In honour of that, Mul decided to hold a grand celebration for his mentor Chief Kants on his 90th birthday. He invited everyone in the province to come and celebrate the important occasion with the man who had helped him. More than 5,000 people turned up at Kaming village including church leaders, public servants and people from surrounding areas.
Mul thanked Chief Kants for everything he had done for the village, district, province and nation.
“We give credit to where it is due. I saw fit to give credit to where I saw fit. We are celebrating a life that has contributed immensely over time for the good of this generation.
“I am privileged and honoured to throw this party for a man who means so much to me personally, and to the province as a whole. I wish to encourage everyone to do the same to our fathers while they’re still alive.”
It was a grand occasion befitting a grand chief in the twilight of his life, for his service to the people.

• Story and picture supplied by JOHN KUPUL.