The Engan Hit Job: How Richard Pagen and Prime Minister Marape Are Destroying Judicial Independence in Papua New Guinea

by PETER KOMBEAKALI

The Ombudsman Commission’s press release of 11 May 2026 is not a defence of the Leadership Code. It is a political assassination dressed in constitutional clothing. After the Acting Public Prosecutor, Helen Roalakona, reviewed fifty allegations against Chief Justice Sir Gibuma Gibbs Salika and formally declined to bring any proceedings stating the evidence was insufficient, not credible and not cogent the Commission did something extraordinary. Chief Ombudsman Richard Pagen, a man from Laiagam in Enga Province, overruled the independent prosecutor and referred the Chief Justice directly to the National Executive Council for possible removal. This is not justice. This is raw power being exercised in broad daylight.

The sequence could not be clearer. In March 2026 the Ombudsman Commission referred the Chief Justice to the Public Prosecutor. On 8 May the Acting Public Prosecutor wrote back and declined to prosecute, citing weak and unreliable evidence. Just three days later, on 11 May, Richard Pagen invoked so-called reserve powers and sent the matter straight to the National Executive Council the executive arm of government controlled by Prime Minister James Marape. The independent prosecuting authority said there was no case. The Chief Ombudsman from Laiagam then bypassed her and handed the Chief Justice to the politicians.

The optics are rotten and everyone in Papua New Guinea can see it. Richard Pagen comes from Laiagam in Enga Province. Deputy Chief Justice Ambeng Kandakasi, the man who has already acted as Chief Justice and who stands to gain the most if Sir Gibbs Salika is removed, is also understood locally to come from the same Laiagam area. One man from Laiagam is now using the office of Chief Ombudsman to clear the path for another man from the same small corner of Enga Province to take the highest judicial post in the country. In a nation already poisoned by tribal and provincial politics, this looks exactly like what it appears to be favouritism and score-settling at the very top of the judiciary.

Prime Minister James Marape can issue all the pious statements he likes about respecting judicial independence. His government has already shown it will use every institution it controls appointments, funding, the National Executive Council, and now the Ombudsman Commission to neutralise anyone who refuses to bow. This is the same pattern we have watched for years. When the Public Prosecutor would not play ball, they simply moved the goalposts to the next body they could influence. The message to every judge in Papua New Guinea is now unmistakable: fall in line, or we will find a way to destroy you.

What happens when the Chief Ombudsman can override the Public Prosecutor and refer the sitting Chief Justice to the executive for removal? What happens when provincial connections and political loyalty matter more than evidence and due process? Papua New Guinea is being destroyed from within. The very institutions meant to protect the people are being turned into weapons against anyone who stands in the way of the powerful. The judiciary was the last major pillar still showing some independence. Now even that is under direct attack.

If Sir Gibbs Salika can be removed through this shabby, politically motivated process, then no judge, no constitutional office holder, and no independent voice will ever be safe again. The National Executive Council must reject this referral immediately. Parliament must summon Richard Pagen and demand answers. The legal profession, the churches, civil society and ordinary Papua New Guineans must speak with one voice before it is too late.

This is not about one man. This is about whether Papua New Guinea will remain a country governed by law, or become a country governed by the personal and provincial interests of those who currently hold power. Prime Minister Marape and Chief Ombudsman Richard Pagen have made their move. Now the people must make theirs.