By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
Waigani District Court has halted police from investigating Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai and his Deputy John Kalamorah on allegations of misappropriating funds during the 2022 National elections.
Senior Magistrate Danny Wakikura last Wednesday (14th December 2022) issued a stayed order on a search warrant obtained by the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Detectives from searching for financial documents in the corporate division of the Electoral Commission. This is part of their investigation into allegations that Mr Sinai has allocated funds to a company to install surveillance camera (CCTV) in selected counting rooms throughout the country during the 2022 National elections. . However it is alleged that the company took the money and never delivered the project. The NFACD Detective Gitua has obtained a search warrant on 11th October 2022 against Mr Kalamorah and on the 19th October against Mr Sinai to search for financial documents in the corporate division of the Electoral Commission.
Mr Sinai and Mr Kalamorah then took a Stay order against the search warrants claiming that the stay order was defective. . Thy claimed that NFACD Defective Chief Inspector Gitua had forged outgoing acting NFACD Director Chief Inspector Kuiab Pare’s signature to apply for the search warrant without Kuiab’s knowledge . They also claimed that the complainant Noel Anjo is a failed candidate and has political motive to lay this complain.
Mr Wakikura adjourned the case to 28th March 2023 after Mr Sinai and Mr Kalamorah lawyer Mr Kayoma Akeya made a submission to stay the search warrant. Police Prosecutor Sergeant Joseph Sangant was unavailable in Court as he was on duty travel in Mt Hagen Western Highlands Province. The case was adjourned to give an opportunity for Police to argue before the Court to set the Stay order aside and allow police to search for financial documents in the Corporate Division to investigate Mr Sinai and Mr Kalamorah.
