Twenty-four people were killed over three days of violence, including pregnant women and children, in Papua New Guinea due to tribal conflict.
It is alleged that tribal violence is common in Papua New Guinea where villagers often avenge relatives in acts known as “payback.”
Political analyst and president of the African Diaspora Forum, Dr Vusi Sibanda says that the killing of a lot of people in a country is an indication of a weak government.
“In a state where there is law; a state where there is law; unlike lawlessness, you have people that know that if they commit an act that is against the law; they are definitely going to get arrested and the law is going to deal with them. But this kind of massacre is just something that boggles the mind.”
Dr Sibanda says one of the contributors to violence in Africa is that there are lot of automatic weapons that are coming into African countries because of extremist beliefs and people with no regard for life.
“As we have seen in Nigeria with Boko Haram that has been there for a very long time and there have been no arrests. This is exactly what is happening in Papua New Guinea as well.”
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister, James Marape has called for the deployment of 40 local officers in the African nation. However, Sibanda says 40 local officers are not enough.
“People are taken for granted because when you look at the size of the area and then we talk about 40 people when 24 people have already been killed. It shows you that there is no political will and commitment. People are clueless when it comes to safety-related issues.”
For more on this interview, listen to audio below:
