Tribe gathers for demanding compensation

MARJORIE FINKEO
RELATIVES of a man who died in the Tolokuma Gold Mine last month is demanding a K500,000 compensation from the landowner association by Feb 28.
Chirime tribe in the Woitape local level government of Goilala gathered in Port Moresby yesterday and handed their demands to Yulai Landowners Association, an umbrella company of the Tokokuma mine.
A fight started that led to the man’s death when K17,000 belonging to a businessman went missing in the house where a group of men were drinking that night.
The relatives of the businessman killed the man, a father of two from the Chirime tribe, and burnt roadside market houses.
Chirime tribe spokesman Michael Onne said they were putting their demand in a document and made it a public notice so that the tradition of payback killing would stop in Goilala.
“The traditional way of solving problems must stop, bring law and order into the hands of police so that it can be fast-tracked,” Onne said.
It was the first time the tribe had gone out to make peace, usually payback killing takes place.
“If we look at the law only, more problems can come along the way and it is good leaders have stood together to bring peace among the groups,” Central acting police commander Snr Insp Battson Birigi said.