Top admin wins case

By ZACHERY PER
THE Goroka National Court has dismissed criminal charges against sidelined Eastern Highlands provincial administrator Solomon Tato for lack of evidence.
The court ruled on Wednesday to uphold a no-case submission filed by Tato’s lawyer, Richard Yombon, of Newage Lawyers, that there was not enough evidence to prosecute Tato.
Tato was charged with six counts of official corruption, abuse of office and misappropriations related to the awarding of contracts to Lance Works worth K2 million and Tamik Hardware worth K300,000.
He was charged with two counts each of official corruption  and abuse of office.
After a three-day trial at Goroka National Court, Deputy Chief Justice Gibs Salika  ruled that there was not enough evidence to proceed and dismissed the charges.
Relieved, Tato told The National yesterday that the issue was over K2 million yet over the last two years some K40 million had been wasted on the case.
He said K40 million in taxpayer money has just gone down the drain.
“The Eastern Highlands provincial administration saga was like an impact project for the province for the last two years, it started in July 2014 and ended on May 10, 2017,” he said.
Tato said he is awaiting for legal advice and clearance before returning to work.
“I am now cleared and will assume office when given a legal clearance, I now call on the people of Eastern Highlands Province to elect leaders who can be able to work with public servants,” he said.