Kavo out on bail
The National, Wednesday December 24th, 2014
By DAPHNE WANI
CONVICTED Gulf Governor Havila Kavo was granted K5000 bail by the Supreme Court in Waigani yesterday.
Kavo is serving an 18-month jail term after he was convicted on Dec 9 by the National Court of misappropriating K131,338 of public funds four years ago.
Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia, presiding as a single-judge Supreme Court bench, allowed Kavo’s bail with conditions.
They included Kavo attending all court proceedings involving his case next year; not to interfere with the witnesses and records and to seek leave of the Supreme Court if he wanted to travel out of the country.
The court is set to hear his substantive appeal in the April sitting of the Supreme Court.
Kavo’s lawyer Ian Molloy made the bail application under section 11 of the Bail Act on the grounds of exceptional circumstances.
Molloy argued for bail to be granted pending the determination of Kavo’s appeal.
He argued that there appeared to be an apparent error on the face of the record of the judgment on verdict by the trial judge on Sept 24.
Molloy based his argument on Kavo’s position as the Gulf Governor and delays in the hearing and determination of the appeal.
Sir Salamo (pictured) accepted Molloy’s argument and said Kavo had a good prospect of success in his appeal.
“The interest of justice in terms of the incarceration of a convicted felon in circumstances where he has a high chance of success in his appeal against conviction is the dominant consideration in the circumstances of Kavo’s case and the factor militates in favour of grant of bail,” Sir Salamo said.
Kavo, 53, from Orulario village in Ihu, Gulf, remains governor pending the determination of his appeal.
The offence was committed between Feb 5, 2010, and Feb 12, 2010, at Kerema, in Gulf, according to the indictment presented in court by the prosecution.
Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika ruled that the payment of Kavo’s outstanding allowance of K131,338 from K10 million in the Gulf Provincial Account was “improper” and “an abuse of process”.
The K10 million was from the Kutubu Memorandum of Agreement Trust Funds and given to the Gulf provincial government specifically for projects in Kikori district.