Court orders Gamato to pay

National

By TREVOR WAHUNE
A judge has ordered Electoral Commissioner Patilias Gamato to pay costs in a notice of motion he filed against a man accused of publishing defamatory materials about him on social media.
Judge Ere Kariko yesterday gave the order in the Waigani National Court after he dismissed the case against Martyn Namorong after finding that Gamato had breached Order 10, rule 15, of the National Court rules for failing to provide affidavits to support his case as directed by the court.
“This proceeding is straight forward that Namorong published the plaintiffs name as ‘Tomato’ rather than Gamato. It’s been since July 10 last year and affidavits are yet to be completed,” Justice Kariko said.
The court was disappointed that the plaintiff continuously sought extensions in the case.
Justice Kariko reminded parties that according to the National Court Rules, Order 10, Rule 1 (a) (b) and Rule 2 (c), the court may dismiss the proceeding for non-compliance.
“The court infers that there is no genuine interest in this matter, and that the court must use some discretion and power,” Justice Kariko said.
The defendant was accused of writing and publishing on his Twitter account the name of the plaintiff as ‘Tomato’ on June 27 last year. The tweet went viral, including on Facebook, as people criticised Gamato’s management of last year’s general election.