Wapenamanda tribal peace accord broken  

Acting Assistant Commissioner Police, Joseph Tondop described the killing by the Ambulin Tribe of Wapenamanda as a breach of a historic peace accord.

He explained that the peace accord was brokered and signed by the Ambulin Tribe and neighboring, Wakupin Tribal leaders, witnessed by Police Commissioner David Manning and the Enga Provincial Administration.

Mr Tondop said, “These criminals demonstrated that they cannot respect their leaders, their customs, their tribes and their elders and do not care for the many months of misery and suffering that the prolonged tribal war in Wapenamanda [did] put their families, relatives, women and children through.”

He explained that on 26th October, between 4 and 5pm, a young man from the Wapukin Tribe was a passenger on a PMV Bus heading into Wapenamanda from Birip and was dragged out of the bus and hacked to death by the Ambulin Tribesman.  

“On receiving a report of this, Enga Provincial Police Commander and Deputy SOE Controller Fred Yakasa personally attended to this and went to the scene to recover the body [but] were prevented by armed criminals from Ambulin [and] returned the next day to retrieve the dead body.”   

Mr Tondop, in his capacity as acting ACP/Highlands Western Command and Enga SOE Controller had placed the Wapenamanda District under the SOE orders.