Lawyer in election case discharged

By LUKE KAMA
A lawyer who was charged with contempt of court last month in an election petition case challenging the election of Gumine Open MP Nick Kuman was discharged by the Waigani Supreme Court in Port Moresby on Thursday.
Lawyer Dudley Yariyari, who represented candidate Dawa Lucas Dekena in an election petition challenging the win of Kuman in last year’s national election, was found guilty of contempt of court after he failed to properly represent his client in a slip rule application case.
Justice Ambeng Kandakasi, sitting as a single Supreme Court judge had said on Friday Nov 23 that he and other senior judges would decide on what consequences would follow as it was not the first time Yariyari had failed his client by not providing arguable materials in court.
Kandakasi, who cited Yariyari for contempt, allowed him to go walk free after his lawyer, Solomon Wanis of Morgens Lawyers, submitted that his client was remorseful and was prepared to offer an apology.
The court allowed Yaryari to speak and he offered his sincere apology.
Wanis for Yariyari concluded his submission by saying this was a telling lesson for not just his client, but also to himself as a lawyer and other lawyer s who were present in court, and asked the court to set his client free with some warnings.
The court set Yariyari free and warned him not to repeat the same mistake.
Yariyari was cited for contempt when he raised a ground in a slip rule application which he had already abandoned in the review application filed on behalf of Dekena.