Namah to face Leadership Tribunal – big deal!

By PNG Echo

Having been one of Namah’s most vocal and abiding critics, one would think this writer would be celebrating Namah’s 14 August referral to the public prosecutor and the call for Chief Justice, Sir Salamo Injia to establish a Leadership Tribunal– but the time for rejoicing has long passed – this is too little, too late.

Too Little

Of the dozen charges brought by the Ombudsman’s Commission, nine of them are money related, including non-declaration of assets and failing to submit returns. One charge is related to the storming of the Supreme Court and the attempted arrest of the Chief Justice, one for interfering with an administrative process and another for providing misleading information (Read: lying)

While all of these charges and allegations indicate a certain moral turpitude, ten of the charges revolve around money the other two around the exercise of power. Money and power: is this the main focus of the Ombudsman’s Commission?

Certainly the Commission has been afforded access to many other issues involving Namah, even via this writer, and while I have communicated with an officer from the Commission, who gave his undertaking to revert, he never did. That was many years ago, so much so that I’d almost forgotten – this latest salvo served to remind me.

It’s difficult to reconcile the fact that a Christian country that has just celebrated a ‘Day of Repentance’ can have such a strong focus on money and power while ignoring (negating?) other issues involving grossly offensive behaviour towards other human beings

Who can forget Namah’s behaviour at Sydney’s Star Casino?

A more secular country (Australia) was outraged enough to splash the incident across the front page of a leading Fairfax newspaper. Yet the Ombudsman’s Commission of Papua New Guinea, a Christian country (sorry to harp – but it needs emphasis) has seen fit not to find this ‘conduct unbecoming of a leader’ – well anyway, not yet.

And there’s more…I could go on, but what’s the point? It’s already…

…too late

One of the only things that this Leadership Tribunal will deliver is retribution. For the average PNGean this will mean absolutely nothing.

For while the Ombudsman’s Commission was leisurely contemplating Namah’s alleged sins, this dangerous politician, whose conduct was evidently and apparently unbecoming of a leader, was being taken down and neutralized by other forces – mainly political – and thank the Lord for them.

Thus the Ombudsman’s Commission becomes a paper tiger – too slow to expose conduct unbecoming of a leader so as to prevent any serious damage to the country that the promotion of that person into a position of (greater) authority could have wrought. They’ve merely closed the stable door after the horse has bolted.

The only real winner in this latest twist to the Namah saga is going to be the judiciary.

For the Chief Justice the storming of his court was personal – it was a direct challenge to his power base.

If Namah is found guilty (Will it be members of the judiciary sitting on this Leadership Tribunal? I’ve heard tell many of them are in awe and fear of the ‘boss’.) it will re-establish the power of the judiciary in a country where charges of contempt of court seem to be legion and where these charges seem to be so often proven.

As for Namah, I don’t imagine him a phoenix that will rise from his own ashes, he’s just yesterday’s man – he’s given it his best shot and has come up wanting. I don’t think the final death thrust that will likely be delivered from the Leadership Tribunal is necessary to negate his influence, so it’s just retribution and I take no succour from that.

Forget Namah – Namah is Nomoh – hasn’t been for a while.