Students’ families call for justice

By HEZRON KISING
THE families of two secondary school students who were shot at by police in Lae seven years ago during a protest march, have called for justice.
On the morning of May 27, 2013, male students from Bugandi Secondary School in Lae staged a peaceful protest march to demonstrate their frustration over the continuous harassment and attacks on them by students from Lae Secondary School.
The Bugandi students, in school uniform, walked to Lae Secondary School in Eriku and staged a protest calling for an end to school fights.
Police were called in to contain the situation after a confrontation between the two schools.
Shots were fired to control the situation when Dimas Dobbie and Tobias Hombi, who were then grade 11 students at Bugandi, were shot.
Dobbie was shot in the left shoulder and survived.
Hombi was shot in the neck and died.
The shootings were investigated and progressed to the state prosecutor who called for further investigations in 2016, delaying the trial.
The families said they had not received any updates or news about the progress of the investigation to date and tomorrow would mark seven years since the shootings.
Hombi’s father Tobias Wama said seeing his son killed in his school uniform was painful and continued to hurt him as the people responsible had not faced justice.
“I will have peace when justice is served for my son’s case,” he said.
Hombi’s mother Anna Wama said she always reminded of her son when she saw Bugandi students in uniform and her family needed justice.
“I am still mourning my son’s tragic death and it always breaks my heart to see students from Bugandi in their uniforms nowadays,” she said.
“It always remind me of my son. We want the case to be fast tracked by relevant authorities.”