Court to hear bid to restrain police, NAC board over appointment

By KARO JESSE
THE Waigani National Court will, on Monday, hear National Airports Corporation (NAC) acting managing director and chief executive officer Rex Kiponge’s bid to restrain NAC’s board and police from interfering in his appointment.
Justice David Cannings, on Thursday, fixed the hearing after dismissing an application by former NAC boss Ephraim Wasem who sought to dismiss the proceedings on various grounds for abuse of process.
The judge refused to dismiss the proceedings on the grounds that the amended originating summons filed by Kiponge through his lawyer Dan Kakaraya of Warner Shand Lawyers was not confined to seeking declaration orders.
Justice Canning found that there was utility in the case. Wasem, through his lawyer Abraham Serewe, claimed that the proceedings was an abuse of court process, that it failed to disclose any reasonable cause of action and the primary originating summons served no utility.
Kakaraya submitted that there was no evidence by Wasem to support his claims.
He told the court that it was his (Kiponge) right to commence the proceedings to enforce his rights of employment which is protected by section 37 of the constitution and terms of conditions which he was appointed by the NAC board under the corporation’s constitution.
Kakaraya accused an ex-officio member of NAC board and secretary for Transport and Infrastructure Department Roy Mumu of defamatory over an affidavit disclosed which claimed that there was no resolution by the board for Kiponge to commence the proceedings.
However, the state through Solicitor-General Tauvasa Tanuvasa claimed that the submission made by Kakaraya regarding Mumu were speculative and scandalous.
Tanuvasa also informed the court that Kiponge had yet to serve the court files on the state since it was ordered on April 1.