The Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea has ordered most of the
major players involved in the recent political crisis to appear before
the bench,
The court is expected to sit at 10.30am (AEDT) on Tuesday.
The move comes days after Prime Minister Peter O’Neill announced Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia was to be suspended pending an investigation into allegations he mismanaged court funds.
The court issued the order on Friday, hours after Mr O’Neill announced his government’s second attempt to suspend Sir Salamo pending an investigation into his conduct by a tribunal of former judges.
‘These allegations are very serious. The government has been troubled by them for some time. I’ve mulled over it for six months, and after wide consultation (the government) have decided on this action,’ Mr O’Neill said on Friday.
The court responded to the suspension order that evening, issuing a summons for Mr O’Neill, Deputy PM Belden Namah and political rival Sir Michael Somare and his appointees to various government positions.
Sir Salamo presided over the five-man bench that ruled in a 3-2 decision in mid-December that Sir Michael was the leadr of the government, five months after the majority of parliament voted to dump him as prime minister and from parliament.
That decision sparked a political crisis in PNG that grew into an attempted military mutiny by Somare supporters two weeks ago.
The Supreme Court summons also requires the presence of defence force chief Brigadier General Francis Agwi as well as Col Yaurra Saas, the man who led the failed mutiny.
Tom Kulunga, Mr O’Neill’s choice for police commissioner, and Fred Yakasa, Sir Michael’s choice for the top police job, have also been ordered to appear.
The court is expected to sit at 10.30am (AEDT) on Tuesday.
The move comes days after Prime Minister Peter O’Neill announced Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia was to be suspended pending an investigation into allegations he mismanaged court funds.
The court issued the order on Friday, hours after Mr O’Neill announced his government’s second attempt to suspend Sir Salamo pending an investigation into his conduct by a tribunal of former judges.
‘These allegations are very serious. The government has been troubled by them for some time. I’ve mulled over it for six months, and after wide consultation (the government) have decided on this action,’ Mr O’Neill said on Friday.
The court responded to the suspension order that evening, issuing a summons for Mr O’Neill, Deputy PM Belden Namah and political rival Sir Michael Somare and his appointees to various government positions.
Sir Salamo presided over the five-man bench that ruled in a 3-2 decision in mid-December that Sir Michael was the leadr of the government, five months after the majority of parliament voted to dump him as prime minister and from parliament.
That decision sparked a political crisis in PNG that grew into an attempted military mutiny by Somare supporters two weeks ago.
The Supreme Court summons also requires the presence of defence force chief Brigadier General Francis Agwi as well as Col Yaurra Saas, the man who led the failed mutiny.
Tom Kulunga, Mr O’Neill’s choice for police commissioner, and Fred Yakasa, Sir Michael’s choice for the top police job, have also been ordered to appear.
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