Court extends time for candidate to find Potape

By ELIAS NANAU
TWO losing candidates for the Komo-Margarima electorate in Southern Highlands have so far failed to serve election petition documents on re-elected parliamentarian Francis Mulungu Potape.
The candidates went to court yesterday seeking an extension of time, arguing that Potape had been elusive and information about his residential address had not been provided to the Electoral Commission.
One candidate, Edward Ekanda Alida, had gone to the extent of doing a court search on a recent criminal charge against Potape to ascertain the last known address.
Alida’s lawyer told the court that Potape had bought a traditional piece of land on the left of the hillside between Manu Autoport and Sabama, in Port Moresby, and he had built his permanent family home there.
“Since the filing of the petition, the doors are permanently locked,” the lawyer said.
“That place looked completely deserted.”
Alida had applied in court that he had exhausted all possibilities, including checking popular hotels in Port Moresby, checking on incoming and outgoing flights from Port Moresby and using police to help him.
The court had granted Alida another 14 days to serve Potape and to publish the election petition in the newspapers.
Another petitioner against Potape, Manaseh Makiba, raised similar issues in court, including a failed attempt to serve Potape after the last Parliament sitting.
Makiba’s lawyer told the court that Potape evaded Makiba’s associates who tried to serve him by getting on a different car and driving out from parliament.
The court extended another 14 days for Makiba to serve the documents, but slapped Potape with K14,814.80 fee for publishing Makiba’s petition documents once in The National within the 14 days.