Papua New Guinea's government has obtained a stay on a court order to quash the appointment of David Manning as police commissioner.
David Manning, PNG's State of Emergency Controller and Police Commissioner. Photo: PNG PM Media
Last week, the national court ruled that there was an error in his appointment by the Public Services Commission which overlooked Mr Manning's lack of a required tertiary qualification.
The decision followed judicial review proceedings filed by senior police officers Sylvester Kalaut* and Fred Yakasa challenging the 2019 appointment by the National Executive Council.
The court ruled that he would cease to be commissioner as of today. But the government has appealed the ruling at the Supreme Court and in the meantime secured a stay on the decision.
PNG's Justice Minister Bryan Kramer, who was Police Minister until recently, said the issue at the heart of the case stemmed from confusion at the time of appointment.
"Confusion came about because when the position was advertised, it was advertised as both the Commissioner of Police and the Secretary of Police.
"Then it raised the issue of whether he's a department head, and therefore he needed to have a tertiary education to qualify for the position."
Bryan Kramer. Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Koroi Hawkins
Kramer said the state's argument was that there is no position of secretary of police.
"As far as the Commissioner's position is concerned, which is provided in law, it is not subject to any minimum qualification as it's not a department head and it's not a provincial administrator.
"Therefore he should have been able to maintain the commissioner's position," the minister said.
While it remains to be seen whether the state's argument will be accepted at the Supreme Court, Kramer backed Manning as the best person for the job of commissioner and to continue implementing reforms.
"In the police force, it's all about command and control. It's not something you get taught about in university."
Detectives from the National Fraud & Anti-Corruption Directorate arrested and charged suspended Assistant Commissioner of Police - Human Resources, Mr
*In may 2020 Sylvester Kalaut was arrested by anti-fraud detectives within the PNG police force and charged with one count of abuse of office, and one count of attempting to pervert the course of justice.