Knight suspended from Office by Leadership Tribunal

Manus MP, Ronny Knight was suspended from office this afternoon by a Leadership Tribunal headed by Justice Salatiel Lenalia, who accepted references submitted by the Public Prosecutor, Pondros Kaluwin.

Kaluwin had presented to the tribunal, references relating to allegations of misconduct in office by Knight which in turn resulted in due processes being followed which saw the suspension of the Manus MP, with full pay, pending the outcome of the tribunal.

The outspoken MP was referred by the Ombudsman Commission on five counts of misappropriation of public monies totalling to over K240, 000.

The tribunal has been adjourned to 10 November, 2014, and copies of the instruments of Knight’s suspension will be officially presented to the Speaker of Parliament.

Manus MP, Ronny Knight, is the son of a former Australian naval officer – Ronny Knight Senior, who was stationed at the Royal Australian Navy HMAS Tarangau base (now the PNGDF Lombrum naval base) in the province of Manus in the 1960’s.

His parents chose to become PNG citizens when Papua New Guinea gained independence in 1975 from Australia and started their family business with interests in stevedoring and tourism.

The now-suspended MP has been given till November 10 to respond to allegations made against him in the court of law, under the Leadership Tribunal.  PNGTODAY /EMTV