Court defers murder case

By HEZRON KISING
A COURT has adjourned a murder case against two men and a woman accused of killing a man suspected of practicing sorcery in a remote village in Morobe to go through their submission (section 96 statement) to establish their involvement in the killing.
Magistrate Edward Kupo on Wednesday, told Nick Yawa, Michaelyn Yambu and Yambu Wenie of Elauru village in Bulolo that he had to go through their submissions again to determine what they did and how they were involved in the murder of Mengisa Wara.
“The court has to know what you physically did individually before a decision can be made,” he said.
He said the case was one of many reported throughout the country where people accused of sorcery were usually killed.
“It (sorcery) is a bad practice, but it is also impossible to prove that a person is practicing it.”
In their submission the three accused stated that as part of the community, they were there to witness the mediation between the deceased and the community leaders.
But the meeting turned violent as villagers accused Wara of practicing sorcery and attacked him.
Wenie had accused the victim of poisoning his child.
Police reports allege that on March 24, 2019, around 9am, Wara was brought to the village for a meeting where the three accused assaulted him over numerous sorcery allegations.
It was alleged that the deceased was brought to the village to be tortured.
The report said Michaelyn Yambu, who accused Wara of sorcery, struck him three times on the head causing him to fall unconscious.
The victim was then slashed with a knife by a Joshua Songoa.
Another villager named Saking Pae protested the attack and called for the people to find out if their claim was true before taking action.
Three men Songoa, Francis Yawa, and Komas James overpowered Pae and Jonah Dennis, who tried to stop the attack on Wara.
Wara died as a result of his injuries.
The case returns to court on Wednesday for a ruling on the evidence against the accused.
The other accused Songoa, Yawa, Komas and James are remanded at Buimo jail.