Three Men Committed

Goilala Cases

Three Men Committed To Higher Court

fOWER court hearings against two .’ District Services Officers and a native Police Corporal were con :luded in the lower court, Port Moresby, late August. The three nen concerned who were committed ;o the Supreme Court, were: Assistant District Officer Frederick David Anderson, who has been com nitted on a charge of having issaulted and fastened two natives ;o a flagpole: and on a charge of laving confined a native unlawfully » gaol for five months.

Patrol Officer John William McGregor committeed on a charge >f having handcuffed a native to a lag-pole; and having burned a lative house.

Corporal Ataimbo Kakarosi, who las been committed on charges of issaulting three natives by burning >r hitting them with a stick. • The Supreme Court case against Ataimbo was heard in Port Moresby, September 11. He was sentenced to 18 months hard labour for unlawfully assaulting a native Siwoi and doing him bodily harm, and nine months for each ; of two other assaults on two other r natives.

In passing sentence, Chief i Justice Mann said Ataimbo was encouraged to transgress the law to satisfy the unreasonable I instructions of his superiors. How ; ever, as a policeman, he must have known he had no right to get evidence in the way he did. • The Supreme Court case against Anderson commenced on September 12, but was adjourned until September 17.

The alleged offences took place at rapini, in the Goilala sub-district of tapua—and most of them in 1956.

The proceedings in the lower ourt were long drawn out, due to he usual interpretation troubles. In Lnderson’s case, the natives con erned came from the Kunimaipa irea of Goilala.

The court’s first task was to find i disinterested Kunimaipa who can peak Motu, and then a Motu peaker with a good command of Inglish. The first Kunimaipa in erpreter was found to be a relation if Avila (who is alleged to have •een wrongfully imprisoned). The ourt dispensed with the services if two other interpreters later.

Most of the evidence taken was rom the natives who are alleged o have been burned, handcuffed, ted-up, imprisoned, etc. However, a ew interesting points emerged: • Goilala sub-district, an area of

4,000 square miles of rugged peaks and extremely truculent natives, is administered by an Assistant Dis trict Officer, one patrol-officer and a cadet patrol officer. • Although there have been over 50 murders in the area since the war, the two native plantiffs in Ander son’s case, Avila and Koupa, had in their possession a shotgun with which Avila shot Koupa’s wife, “thinking she was a pig or a wallaby.” (It was due to his annoy ance over the shotgun incident that Anderson is alleged to have hand cuffed Avila and Koupa to a flag pole and kept Avila in gaol for five months). • Although the Director of Native Affairs, Mr. A. A. Roberts, said in evidence that he considered it was necessary for Goilala officers to be stern, severe and just and that he had considered the administration of the district under Anderson was going perfectly, it was during Ander son’s absence on leave, from January to July this year, that the “mysteri ous Tapini investigations” were made. (June PIM, p. 138 ). • When Anderson returned to Port Moresby he asked Roberts

what he was up against and was informed that he was facing criminal charges of assault and de privation of liberty. He had said: “I don’t mind confessing to little things like that.” Roberts had ad vised him: “For goodness sake don’t admit anything. Go and see your solicitor.” • Two natives from the village where McGregor had ordered a house burnt and who had given evidence against him, when asked to identify him had walked past McGregor and had pointed to Anderson.