The man behind it all

✓ Political fixer,

security con

sultant, busi nessman and occasional spook - there doesn’t seem to be a job that mystery man Mujo Sefa hasn’t held in Papua New Guinea. Sefa thrust himself into the limelight in November last year when he went to the ABC with secretly filmed video tapes of PNG Prime Minister Bill Skate allegedly authorising bribes through his Internal Affairs Minister, Thomas Pelika. The tapes were filmed in Sefa’s Port Moresby offices and showed the for met government advisor offering an enve

lope allegedly containing 2000 kina

(SUS1200) to Pelika.

Sefa is now living in Melbourne. The opposition has called for his extradition to

face police investigations, saying bribery

is a two-way street. What is general known about Sefa is that he is the managing direc tor of PNG Pipes Pty Limited and has had influence with the current government administration, but to what degree is unclear. Described only a month before the drama in parliament by Skate as a “per sonal friend” Sefa’s past associations have given the PNG intelligence agency reason for concern. Details from a National Intelligence Organisation (NIO) report published in the National newspaper, iden tified him as part of a “business mafia” of expatriates operating in PNG.

The expatriates use political and offi cial influence to expand their operations,

according to the report. The NIO raised concerns about Sefa’s business operations and his associates in a report to Skate shortly after he was elected prime minister in July last year.

Sefa first came to the attention of the NIO in early 1995 when he and his broth er were working as security guards for a prominent politician facing death threats.

The report said that after he left the British based security firm which employed him, he made an unsuccessful attempt to gain a security consultancy with the Ombudsman’s office. He also claimed to be an NIO operative on a number of occasions. A reporter for the weekly Independent newspaper, Dominic Kakas, wrote that he had formed a relationship with Sefa during PNG’s Sandline crisis in March last year and was surprised by the access he had to confidential information.

“I could not understand how a busi nessman dealing with pipes could have access to so much and at times classified information,” wrote Kakas.

“(Mr) Sefa had copies of contract arrangements, ticket coupons, hotel receipts and identification cards of the Australian security personnel who came to PNG to quell an uprising in the Oro province and also to provide security at the Wapulo goldmine in the Milne Bay province.” Kakas also said Sefa saw the intelligence briefing on himself and described it as “kids stuff” and not up to standard. Sefa claimed in the ABC report that he had spent $500,000 ($U5320,000) getting Skate elected prime minister.

Undoubtedly there was friendship between the two men, but only a month before, the drama was stretched when Skate was forced to deny in parliament the Sefa had been hired as his chief internal security advisor.

“I’m surprised that (Mr) Mujo Sefa, I’ve known him for four or five months as a friend, is claiming to be by internal secu rity advisor,” Skate had said.

“He was, only for a month or so, because I was under a lot of death threats when I was governor of the NCDC (National Capital District Commission).

Sefa has been lying low in Melbourne and if extradited to PNG, it’s unlikely he’ll have any friends left in high places. AAP