K1mil worth of property lost in fights

By ELIAS LARI
ELECTION-related violence has seen people from the Peke Rungpi tribe in Kindeng in the Anglimp-South Waghi Jiwaka, losing property worth close to a million kina last Wednesday.
The people lost permanent houses, coffee trees, pigs, gardens, personal belongings and vehicles that were burnt.
After the declaration of the Anglimp-South Waghi seat last week, some supporters of candidates did not accept the decision and a fight broke out at Kindeng.
People fled their homes out of fear of being attacked.
A candidate, who contested the seat, Jessie Gognga, said government authorities must move in now to curb the situation before it got out of hand.
He said those whose property had been destroyed were scattered because they had not expected that to happen.
Gognga said school children were scattered all over the area while people had fled their villages.
He called on the authorities to intervene and calm the situation down because lives would be lost if nothing was done.
He said the situation was tense and police must be sent in quickly.
Gognga called on newly-elected Jiwaka Governor Dr William Tongamb to arrange for a police unit to be deployed to the area.
He said people had to understand that elections came after every five years and they were not supposed to go around attacking innocent people and destroying property.
Gognga said he contested the elections but had accepted the result and he urged candidates to educate their supporters to respect the law and not to cause such destruction.