Witchcraft getting out of hand

I WRITE because I am fed up with atrocities like this ‘Tortured woman accused of practicing sorcery’ in Friday’s newspaper and similar happenings across PNG!
What about the arrest of the child abusers in Enga who attempted to burn and torture the girl whose mother was murdered in Mt Hagen back in 2013?
May I appeal to the leaders of the country, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill included, to make a public statement on where we stand on this issue that continues to make front page headlines.
Is Papua New Guinea for or against it?
The PNG Parliament has a treasured King James Version Holy Bible which reiterates all citizens including offenders, victims, witnesses, police officers, public servants, etc, etc, do not have the power to kill.
No one is above the law.
Death penalty must be initiated by courts to apply to the perpetrators who apply death to another innocent person.
This needs to be addressed aggressively, including an announcement on the front page.
We need to also understand that we have gross poverty in many settings.
This is a huge factor in many avoidable diseases and medical complications, for all ages and gender, yet we keep on blaming each other.
Our lifestyles and living conditions are major causes of our own demise.
To help prevent such experiences we need to start addressing poverty.
Of course, there are some cases we have no control over, such as natural disasters.
We can plan and mitigate the risk by knowing and detecting the weaknesses early, and adhering to healthy and safe practices and living conditions.
A public stand is needed on this issue that can support and empower law enforcers to act swiftly.

Alois Nomenda
Port Moresby
NCD