What a senseless waste of a life

 THE senseless slaughter of young mother Moanna Barnanga Pisimi in Lae on New Year’s Day must be condemned in the strongest possible manner.

Whoever is responsible for this horrendous crime must be pursued and apprehended so as to face the full force of the law.

Moanna was only 24-years-old and had a full life ahead of her. 

She was blessed with a loving family and a bright future. She did not deserve to die like this. 

Her tragic death comes just months after her father, rugby league legend Peter Barnanga, died in mysterious circumstances in a parking lot outside asocial and sporting club in Lae.

Moanna’s mother, Rebecca, who comes from Butibam village in Lae, is still mourning the loss of her husband and is reported to be totally devastated by her daughter’s demise.

We extend our condolences and sympathies to the family and relatives.

We support a statement by Lae business woman Sarah Haoda Todd, who strongly condemned the fatal shooting and is spearheading an online campaign called “Justice for Moanna”.

“I fully condemn the senseless shooting of an innocent young woman, Moanna-Pisimi. She was a wife, mother, daughter and sister. At the age of 24, she had the rest of her life ahead of her and had two young sons and a husband who adored her. Her demise is a huge loss to her young sons who will not have the pleasure of knowing her as they grow up. It is a huge loss to family, clan, community, tribe and nation.”

Unconfirmed reports point to an alleged police pursuit of Moanna before she was fatally shot along the Malahang back road.

Mystery surrounds the circumstances leading to her death after she left the Dragon’s night club near the old Lae Airport where she had been with her husband, Thomas Pisimi.

Haoda Todd has questioned the involvement of Lae police. 

“While investigations are ongoing, from unconfirmed reports, it was a police pursuit. Now, if she was shot by the police, what are the rules of engagement of the police force?  

“Given the history of police brutality, I would imagine that she would have been so afraid to turn into the police station for help.  Reports are that she drove past that and even past her own village of Butibam and met her fate.”

Moanna’s grieving husband, Thomas Pisimi, has blamed police for his wife’s killing. In an exclusive interview with The National in Lae yesterday, Pisimi said Moanna was shot during a police chase along the Butibam and Malahang roads. The Lae businessman vowed to pursue the matter in court, saying he had overwhelming evidence that his wife was killed by a bullet fired from a high-powered police firearm. “I am deeply shocked and saddened by the manner in which I lost my beloved wife,” Pisimi wrote in his letter to Police Commissioner Jeffrey Vaki.

“She was shot from the back in head, her head was opened and blood was everywhere. We have to put it out (report it) so that these things must stop. Reporting is one thing, justice is another thing, those responsible must be nailed.”

Pisimi has laid a formal complaint with the police hierarchy in Lae and Port Moresby and has requested neutral police officers from Port Moresby to investigate the homicide.

We sympathise with Pisimi, who is distraught that Moanna’s untimely death has put an abrupt end to their plans for a formal wedding early in the New Year. 

Interestingly, Lae police have been tight-lipped about the incident since New Year’s Day. Metropolitan Superintendent Iven Lakatani, who is usually co-operative with the news media on such matters, has not answered his phone calls from news reporters for the past three days. 

We understand Lakatani has called for a media conference today to reveal details of the incident and hopefully shed some light on the possible suspect or suspects.  

Meanwhile, social media has been abuzz with complaints and concerns from family, friends and members of the public condemning trigger-happy police officers and calling on the police hierarchy to address police brutality.