The Kramer Effect

By PNG Echo

The people of Papua New Guinea have always been Kramer’s pawns. He rode to power on the back of popular issues that he promised to solve, including the promise to bring powerful (and allegedly corrupt) people to justice, especially the then Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill who, at the time, was getting a lot of flak (and I do mean a lot) on the pages of the country’s social media over many of his more controversial decisions.

Kramer took the temperature of the nation and gave them a placebo – for which he was almost deified, and he acquired a Facebook following that became his ‘tribe’ – and everyone in PNG understands the power of the leader of a tribe – they can do no wrong.

So, with this powerful tool under his belt he proceeded to do wrong.

Please see (http://www.pngecho.com/2014/09/11/debunking-the-romanticism-of-investigative-journalism/) where I have discussed this phenomenon in the Australian context

Then in came Marape

Marape has been savvy enough to have learned an important lesson from O’Neill; that he needed a ‘fool,’ one of the proverbial people who “…rush in where angels fear to tread.”

O’Neill’s fool was Belden Namah.

O’Neill would send Namah in to do his dirty work, of which O’Neill was often the beneficiary, but from which O’Neill could distance himself if things went awry. Namah’s excesses were many, up to and including the storming of the Supreme Court yelling “arrest him, arrest him,” at the then Chief Justice, Sir Salamo Inja who was on the bench, presiding. It’s a question for another time as to who won that face off between the executive and the judiciary, but my point here is that there were no adverse personal effects felt by Peter O’Neill. I think he was overseas at the time. He who will not (cannot?) be blamed.

Marape’s main problem in seeking to emulate O’Neill was that he didn’t have a Belden-Namah equivalent within his ranks, but he still needed an enthusiastic fool to neutralize the very real threat from a very fierce and cunning adversary who he had just dangerously crossed – Peter O’Neill. So, he plucked Bryan Kramer from the ranks of the opposition and made him Police Minister from where he took aim at all those associated with O’Neill – hoping to neutralize O’Neill’s power by nobbling O’Neill’s perceived support base.

It must be asked: in what sort of government does a Prime Minister give a powerful ministry like the police ministry to a member of the opposition? It is an established paradigm of government that the state has the monopoly on the legitimate use of force and therefore whoever commands that force is, effectively, the government. I’m sure it was with this in mind that Kramer happily took (suggested?) the position and then proceeded to put his crony, in the form of the underqualified David Manning into the most powerful position in the ranks of the RPNGC – from there to do Kramer’s bidding – and he has.

Kramer’s abuses of power

Illustrating the abuse of power Kramer has exerted (just one example of many), first as Police Minister then Minister for Justice (the same as Attorney-General but Kramer is unqualified), I am going to take you back to July/August 2018 when a civil case was underway in the Western Province.

In question was just one of the Ok Tedi trust funds containing monies put in trust for the benefit of the people of the Western Province, from where it was suspected that K300 million was missing.

The plaintiffs were seeking to have the then current trustees removed for having mismanaged the fund. The original trustees were proving an impediment to investigating the alleged theft. I’m guessing that this was just the first salvo of the plaintiffs. Having removed the original trustees, they would continue to investigate the alleged theft and bring charges if appropriate. 

The case was before the late, well-respected Justice Danajo Koeget, who, according to a source in court at the time, interrupted counsel for the plaintiff to ask whether he was legally able to jail the original plaintiffs. Knowing this, you will not be surprised to learn that the Judge’s ruling was to have the original trustees removed.

I lost track of the case after that.

Fast forward to January 2021 when Young and Williams lawyers (who had appeared for the plaintiff in the previous case) and some of the new trustees of the aforementioned trust were arrested for stealing money from the trust – with the Plaintiff being Western Province MP James Donald. Somehow the good guys had become the bad and James Donald had appeared out of nowhere making allegations.

…[the late] Justice Danajo Koeget …interrupted counsel for the plaintiff to ask if he was legally able to jail the original plaintiffs…[in the end] the Judge’s ruling was to have the original plaintiffs removed [and replaced.]

Is it merely coincidental that during this time, Kramer had been variously Minister of Police or Justice Minister? If this was purely coincidental, it would have been serendipity for Kramer. One of the lawyers was Greg Sheppard, and between he and Kramer there was no love lost. Sheppard’s main offence was being good at his job. The savvy politicians of PNG know this, and he is often briefed to defend them – including briefs from O’Neill. Being now on bail, Sheppard’s movements have been severely restricted and he cannot leave the country although he has a wife and family in Australia – it’s been years.

As for Gloria Salika, more serendipity. Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika (Gloria’s father) has been severely criticized by Kramer in the media, for his part in staying the O’Neill warrant for arrest. It’s Kramer’s public comments suggesting foul play by the CJ that is one of the charges being faced by Kramer before the current, ongoing Leadership Tribunal. Gloria Salika’s arrest gave more ammunition in his endeavour to discredit the head of PNG’s judiciary. I guess if Belden Namah could do it, why shouldn’t he give it a try?

Last week the courts started deliberating on the case implicating Sheppard, Gloria Salika and others. It has taken 22 months for it to come to court, holding everyone hostage while they wait. What was presented before the courts revealed much.

1. Police searches were made with invalid search warrants
2. Some of the affadavits relied upon were commissioned by the complainant, James Donald’s lawyer.
3. The three police officers involved admitted to receiving ‘special allowances’ from Special Constable, Any Peperaija Pape, who had received K2.3 million from Dept of PM and NEC to pay the police costs to arrest the directors of the entity that took over the trusteeship after the original directors were removed along with their lawyers and some employees.  

In has been alleged that the instructions to make the arrests came from James Donald, Taboi Awai Yoto and Bryan Kramer (variously as Minister for Police and Justice.) with the full knowledge of PM James Marape. If it looked like Kramer had killed two birds (Salika and Sheppard) with one stone, Kramer should think again.

At the end of last week Justice Berrigan recused herself from this trial before she had handed down her ruling on the admissibility of the evidence (as above). This causes a mistrial, and the case is sent back to the public prosecutor to start again. One of the options of the PP, in this circumstance, is to drop the charges – and although there has been no ruling, the evidence is…well…evident.  How could the PP continue with this farce?

Has Kramer had his 15 minutes of fame – or is there more to come.

Kramer, in his arrogance, has alienate many who may have been his allies. As a result, “all Kramer’s horses, and all Kramer’s men…” couldn’t prevent him from answering to the Leadership Tribunal (sorry, that doesn’t rhyme).

However, don’t write him off yet (although things are not looking too good for him there). Although the Leadership Tribunal can have Kramer removed from office, there’s not a lot stopping Marape ignoring all the protocols and reinstating him (or will he throw him under the bus in that instance?) Then again, the Leadership Tribunal can only refer any criminal matter to the police for prosecution and Kramer’s got that one covered – Manning is a dab hand at ignoring things that have not got the governmental green light.

What’s more, Kramer is now Minister for Immigration (although he’s stepped down pending the decisions of the Leadership Tribunal on the 14 charges against him). Can we expect retaliatory deportations and bans on people to effect Kramer’s political goals and revenge when/if he gets his portfolio back?

So, is PNG to become Kramer’s personal fiefdom?

How much longer will his abuse of power and the courts continue to drive his agenda of personal revenge and political self-aggrandisement – lapped up by his gullible (according to the CJ) but loyal followers?

“He’s not the Messiah – he’s just a very naughty boy.”

(Monty Python)