Mendi no longer safe for women, says local

National

Mendi town is no longer a safe place for women and children to have access to basic services as unplanned riots take place, a women leader in Southern Highlands says.
It is getting towards the end of the year and the chaos in Mendi town is getting worse, Margaret Kawa from Ialibu says.
She said it is  also stopping subsistence farmers from selling their produce to pay for their children’s school fees next year.
Kawa said many families generate income from subsistence farming.
She said trade store owners could not get their stock into town because they feared the violence in town.
“Why are the leaders in the province depriving the rights of the innocent people? This madness has brought fear among the people,” she said.
“Mendi town is no longer a safe place for women and children to have access to basic services as unplanned riots take place.”
Kawa said women especially wanted both parties to reach an understanding and settle their disputes elsewhere and not in Mendi town.
Meanwhile, Southern Highlands health authority chief executive office Dr Joseph Birisi has called on community leaders from Undiri and Kambiri near Mendi town to help address the issue.
He said the community leaders must not let outsiders disrupt services in town which would soon lead to the closure of important facilities and people would be affected.