MP facing personal challenge

JUSTICE

SIDELINED Agriculture Minister and Member for Goroka MP Aiye Tambua has agreed to meet police detectives to be interviewed over allegations of abuse by his wife and two daughters.
However, he wants the Police Commissioner to appoint a new team of investigators to take charge of his case alleging that the initial investigation was handled by members of the police force who are compromised with conflict of interest.
When he was first invited to go over for an interview, the member was in his electorate and could not attend a Dec 14 interview and requested through his lawyers for an extension of time where a new date (Jan 25, 2024) was agreed to.
However, Tambua said contrary to the agreement, the police to release a media statement which was front page news in one of the dailies.
The interim protection order (IPO) against the MP was granted by the family court in Waigani on Sept 4 but later dismissed on Oct 3 because there was no written consent from the complainant as required by the Family Protection Act.
Tambua’s lawyer Dick Korowa Kipoi, principal of Kipoi Lawyers, on Oct 4, 2023 wrote to the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crimes) Hodges Ette expressing on behalf of the leader his disappointment and concern that the IPO proceedings and compliant against his client had been blown out of proportion and ultimately politicised.
Tambua’s wife on Sept 4, 2023 filed an IPO with the intention of travelling to and residing in Australia as they had marital issues and she and the children had been living away from the MP for more than a year.
The application for IPO was filed and prosecuted allegedly by a policeman who at the time was a suspended and had not divulged to the court that he was related to the complainant, was suspended and had not obtained a written consent from the complainant, the lawyer’s letter alleges.
Using the Sept 4 protection order the MP’s family travelled to Australia.
In the application for the IPO application, apart from other reasons, the wife and two daughters made allegations of sexual assault against the MP which he has denied outright and has vowed to prove his innocence and ultimately clear his name.
Tambua’s lawyer said responses to the specific allegations would be addressed in court during trial proper but there has already been a media trial.
In his letter to the police, Kipoi said: “We have instructions and also bring to your attention that the very same documents used in the IPO application were then used to lodge a complaint. The complaint was not lodged by the wife as at the time when the complaint was allegedly lodged, she was already in Australia.
“We also have instructions that it has also come to our client’s knowledge that there are relatives who are heavily involved in the pursuit of this case raising the very issue of conflict of interest and that there is no neutrality and impartiality in the investigations and collecting of the evidence.
“Apart from the above, our client also instructs and has evidence that there is political collusion with the relatives of the wife.’’
The letter further argued that this was a sexual offence allegation which should be dealt with by the Sexual Offences Squad but officers from the Homicide Squad have been assigned to do the investigations which was not right.
“Our sole purpose of writing to you is simply for neutral police officers to investigate and have carriage of this complaint,” Kipoi Lawyers stated in the letter.
“The police have not afforded our client as a leader and minister of this country proper protocols and doing their due diligence checks and investigations prior to releasing the information to the media.
But Police Commissioner David Manning has said in a recent media report that the member has been accorded all the protocols befitting his status.
On Dec 12, the MP’s counsel also wrote to the OIC CID outline another set of concerns.
“Our client simply expresses his constitutionally granted right of freedom of expression in bringing to the attention of the officer in charge of the investigations that this investigation one way or another has been compromised,” the letter read in part.
“Our client understands that the allegations raised are very serious in nature and would not have been raised if there was no evidence. Instead, our client has evidence of the allegations and if this matter proceeds to trial, all the relevant witnesses would be called to disprove the allegations against our client.
The lawyers alleged that the investigations have been compromised for the below reasons:

• Political interference: We have evidence from a witness who was shown the exchange of Whatsapp messages between a senior opposition politician and a member of the investigation team.
• Unlawful agreement: The relatives and the complainant under the pretext of resolving this issue and withdrawing the complaint demanded money and other resources from our client which he refused to pay.
• Attorney-General or Police Commissioner’s approval: In order for police officers to travel to travel abroad, in this case Australia, and collect statements in relation to criminal matters, we are aware that the final approval of such has to come from the Commissioner of Police or the Attorney-General. As to whether such approval was given is a legal issue to be determined by the Police Commissioner and the Attorney. We have formally written to the Attorney-General on this issue and are awaiting his response to clarify this issue.
• Conflict of interest: There is conflict of interest in this matter as; relative policemen have used this opportunity to extort and blackmail our client for their own interest to gain financial favours, and political interference with communication exposed between a politician and an officer of the investigating team.
• Witness statements prepared by third party: Three witnesses in support of the complaint who were requested to provide statements to police have approached our client on their own accord and confirmed that they were not personally interviewed to give their statements. They confirmed that their statements were prepared by third parties and sent to them through email. When they received them they were shocked at the allegations in the statement as they were not true and refused to sign the statements. When they refused, the statements were edited, redone and sent to them. When they still refused to sign, they were threatened and forced to sign which they did. However, they have assured the leader on their own accord that they will withdraw their statements as it was prepared by others and not written by them.

Tambua has himself cited a recent Facebook post alleging the existence of a syndicate working to smuggle women affected by domestic and sorcery accusation-relation violence.
He says because of the prevalence and publicity relating to such violence, some Papua New Guinean women are being sent overseas based on little of no real evidence of such violence against them.
He says his family was moved to Australia without his consent.
“They were moved from one country to another without any justification or proper legal arrangements.
He adds that some men affected by this have contacted him to share their experiences. The article alluded to above states that Papua New Guinean women have played significant roles in establishing a syndicate network for smuggling individuals into Australia, utilising various visa subclasses, including tourist visas, temporary protection visas, safe haven enterprise visas, protection visas resolution of status visas, and refugee visas.
It further alleges that there are indications that Australian Immigration and Border Security authorities unconsciously facilitated this network under the guise of assisting survivors of domestic violence, mainly women who applied for visas and brought their children along, using them as leverage to apply for other bridging visas, such as refugee and protection visas.
Tambua in his affidavit filed to contest the IPO application denied all sexual assault and marital rape allegations made by his wife and daughters and vowed to defend himself at the appropriate forum and not through the media.
“The first respondent (wife) left our matrimonial home alleging sexual abuse against her and my daughters which are vigorously denied.
“I was then given a choice by relatives who are policemen that if I wanted my wife and children back, I had to agree to given the things alluded to above, failing which they would not be released.
“However, the agreement was used as a smokescreen and my wife on Sept 4, 2023 filed and interim protection order application with the intention of travelling to Australian and residing there based on marital issues.
“The application for the IPO was done ex-parte and she was granted the orders. I was not given the right to be heard and defend it).
Based on the orders, my wife and children travelled to Australia on Sept 7, 2023 without my consent and permission.
“I then filed an application to set aside the IPO and on Oct 3, 2023, the court dismissed the IPO.
“The same application and the very same documents used in the previous IPO application are now refiled through IPO No.73 or 2023 between the same parties but this time it has been re-filed with my wife and children living in Australia. The documents have been signed and sent through email.’’
This application was listed for hearing on Nov 3, 2023. However, Tambua’s lawyers filed a National Court proceeding and successfully stayed the second IPO proceeding.
“Based on the fact that my wife and children are now living in Australia, this IPO orders they are seeking are no longer necessary and relevant as they are not living in Papua New Guinea where any IPO Order issued by the court is applicable,” the MP said.
He said no protection visa has been granted to his wife and children by the Australia Immigrations Department as requirements and conditions such as sorcery-related violence, tribal fighting, medical reports of abuse and violence by husband, previous police complaints of abuse and lack of permanent IPO for the grant of such visa has not been met which clearly shows that he has not abused them as alleged.
“There is no permanent protection order. The family is now under a bridging visa.
“We don’t know who is looking after them financially and I’m really worried as the father and head of the family as I cannot support them whilst under investigations for fear of been seen as bribing them to withdraw the complaint.
“They’ve been moved twice already. It’s difficult to send them money in the above circumstances.”
The MP is still holding out the olive branch and hopeful that his family would return to him and together they can set the record straight.