One dead in Mumeng fight

A fight between the Patep-Hambu and Palakris villagers in Mumeng, Bulolo district, has left one man dead.
The fight which flared up on Monday had stemmed from a non-compliance of a court order for the Pateps to pay a Palakris man, name only as “Chris”, K1,500 for injuries sustained in an earlier fight.
A source said from Mumeng that after the payment period ordered by the court for the payment to be made lapsed, Chris mobilised his tribesman and converged on Patep Hambu villagers where a fight broke out.
The deceased was a defenceless mentally discarded Patep-Hambu youth who did not know what was going on.
Leaders from the two villagers condemned the killing of the youth which they described as “an innocent blood”.
They later called for peace and told their respective tribesmen not to drag the matter too far.
They said it was the matter only between the families or the groups that involved in the first fight and not the whole villages.
It is not yet known whether police have made any arrests.