Court reserves decision for Agiru vs Potape case

The national court today reserved its decision for a later date after hearing further submissions from both councils representing ousted Hela Governor Anderson Agiru and newly elected governor Francis Potape on the validity of the removal of Mr. Agiru as the duly elected leader for Hela.

Mr. Agiru’s lawyer was seeking an injunction from the court as he claimed there was serious breach of procedure in the purported election of Komo Magarima MP Francis Potape as governor.

He said there was never a vacancy in the seat when Mr. Agiru sought leave of absence from parliament due to medical grounds.

But Potape’s lawyer Philip Ame argued that they followed constitutional processes by the law to vote out Mr. Agiru and asked the court to refused the injunction order sought by the Mr. Agiru

Presiding Judge Justice Derek Hartshorn said he would not recognize any party in this point in time but will make it his business to deliver a judgement as soon as possible.

PNGFM / PNGTODAY