Jacob Yafai Trial Begins: Will Justice Prevail? The trial of Jacob Yafai is underway, raising questions about potential influence and the pursuit of justice. Former MP and ex-convicts provide commentary.

by Paul Yosef Tiensten, former MP.

It is now a public information that Jacob Yafai will be trialed on the 10th of March 2025 at the Waigani National Court by the presiding Judge – Chief Judge Salika and the people of Papua New Guinea would want to see that the truth must be told and the accused or co-accused must be convicted and sentenced for a jail time if they are found guilty of committing a crime so that the truth will set Papua New Guinea free.

[… I feel compelled to do the re-run of this piece by one patriotic Papua New Guinean, Paul Tiensten. Mr Teinstin did a patriotic duty to help another citizen to run a private airline. See what happened to a national airline ditched from the front: some of us Papua New Guinean are full of jealousies through and through! ]

In accordance with Section 32 Approval of Requisitions of the Public Finance Management Act, Yafai was a Section 32 officer appointed to approve expenditures for a specific department pursuant to a warrant authority, in this case Finance Department. In other words, he had the sole powers or authority to commit and approve public funds such as the Paraka’s claims.

If he single-handedly had done this alone then he will surely face the music by himself because he had already breached Section 32 of the Public Finance Management Act by authorizing illegal payments to Paraka.

On the contrary, he could have done it with the direction or instruction of his Minister or Ministers to commit the crime by unlawfully releasing the said payments.

And so the trial is the only forum wherein the facts and evidences will be tested to prove the matter in dispute and to exculpate or inculpate the accused.

To put things in context, I was then the Minister for National Planning in the Somare Government and I only footnoted a project proposal to the Acting Secretary Ruby Zarriga to release the K10 million appropriated for Travel Air which was parked in the Department of the National Planning budget as a pilot project.

This was done before the political impasse when the O’Neill government set up the Task Force Sweep Team to target me while the others were considered collateral damage.

However, it was disbanded in April 2017 when it commenced investigating the very person whose government initiated it in the first place, Prime Minister Peter O’neill regarding his involvement with the Paul Paraka case.

In fact, it was a political witch-hunt as I was arrested, unfairly tried, convicted and sentenced to 9 years for misappropriation at the Bomana Correctional Institution on March 28 2014. I humbly served 4 years and 20 days before being released on parole on 16 April 2018 and then I was granted unconditional and absolute (free) pardon by the Governor General Sir Bob Dadae of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea on Wednesday 11 of May 2022 where His Excellency using his powers conferred by Sections 151 and 152 of the Constitution.

Hence, the legal effect of the pardon rendered total extinction of my criminal liability to whom it was granted without condition whatsoever resulting to the full restoration of my civil or human rights with a clean slate as guaranteed by the Constitution.

In this case, Ms Ruby Zarriga was my Acting Secretary and a Section 32 officer just like Jacob Yafai, but she was exculpated even though she had the sole powers or authority to commit and approve the K10milion to Travel Air in accordance with my footnote as her Minister at all material times.

I just hope that the same treatment can be given to Jacob Yafai if he was directed or instructed by his Minister or Ministers as he was not acting alone, he definitely had accomplices. I wonder if these accomplices will ever be prosecuted for the same crime.

It must be noted that my case is a precedent that not only had it been set but interestingly enough, the trial judge who sentenced me to Bomana is the current presiding judge in the Yafai’s trial, he is none other than the Chief Justice himself.

The stakes are getting higher as the country awaits the result of the trial given the position, wealth and power of some of the star witnesses for the prosecution on one side and the defendant Jacob Yafai on the other.

On top of that Papua New Guineans will soon find out if there are two sets of justice system, one for the wealthy and powerful and another for the poor and ordinary folks.

Paul Yosef Tiensten

5/3/25

Related Posts:

• Lawyer Gloria Salika Arrested and Charged With 83 Counts of Allegedly Involving CMCA Funds Totaling K268 Million And CJ Sir Gibbs Salika (Father) Stepped Down From Official Duties.
• Papua New Guinea Notorious Lawyer, Mr. Paul Paraka Failed in His Latest Attempt to Avoid Allegation of K162M Fraud
• Parliament Gagged In Misleading People Of Papua New Guinea Over The Plight Of Paraka Saga And Unfinished Justice.
• Is The Papua New Guinea Judiciary Compromised?

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