Suspect in killing during clash at Koki known, no arrest made yet: Police

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
PORT Moresby Met Supt Perou N’dranou says they know a suspect in the killing of a man at Koki that led to an ethnic clash.
“We have not arrested anyone yet but we know one of the suspects involved in the alleged stabbing of a Wanigela man to death on Sunday afternoon,” he said.
“At the moment police are on the ground and monitoring the situation. And leaders of Wanigela and Hela community in Koki have assured their cooperation with the police to help in the investigations.
“Business at Koki is now back to normal.”
Supt N’dranou also said there was no report of another fight between Wanigelas and Helas at Manu Autoport.
Meanwhile, Wanigela councillor Tommy Mano has refuted Supt N’dranou’s report in The National on Tuesday. Supt N’dranou had said that Wanigelas had assaulted a Hela man for stealing a mobile phone from a Wanigela woman which prompted Helas to mobilise and kill a Wanigela man.
“The fight started after a drunken Hela man had kicked the garden food stuff of a Wanigela woman at about 5pm on Sunday.
“She was sitting outside the K-Mart shop and selling her food and the Hela man just kicked her goods away. So the Wanigela youths retaliated and punched the Hela man.
“But he went to the settlement and mobilised his relatives and they came back and fought with our youths and allegedly killed Atai Leana Vaburi, in his 20s.”
Mano also confirmed that there was a clash between Goilalas and Wanigelas on Sunday at about 4pm.
“The Goilalas were harassing the public at the shops and bus stops and stealing valuables like mobile phones. We (Wanigelas) chased them away and everything went back to normal.”
“However, the second clash erupted between us and the Helas resulting in the death of our man and the fight stopped at 10pm on Sunday when we took the deceased to the morgue at the Port Moresby General Hospital.
“But fighting started off on Monday morning again.”