Kwailabesi SDA Mission station

DEAR EDITOR, Kevin Suliau’s recent remarks about himself as someone from Akwa’afungia land and tribe in response to my earlier article published in the Island Sun newspaper, dated September 26, 2017 concerning the above subject matter had at last received a well orated response about who actually he was in person especially from someone by the name of Peter Misitana according to his yesterday’s media publication.

Peter Misitana had in fact exposed the real truth concerning someone who wants to hide and mislead the entire Baefua public about history. I would recommend that Kevin Suliau should quickly respond back to Peter Misitana’s article regarding to Akwa’afungia if he is truly someone from there as he had recently claimed to be from in the media. Failure to do so then I would demand that Kevin Suliau should apologise to the public for telling lies. As I have stated earlier, the entire Baefua public demanded nothing from our current issue of debate except that we do tell the truth.

In response to Peter Misitana’s article, I salute you for unfolding some of the untold stories and truth about Akwa’afungia. I am very thankful that you have even revealed to the general public that Akwa’afungia however is not a tribe or land but a shrine located within Walo land.

I would suggest that you should as well relay the same news sentiment to Kevin Suliau back at home and allow him to response back to you if he has guts to do so. For your information I have no inch of interest to talk about anything to do with Walo or even Akwa’afungia or to the extent of making claims of ownership over those places because categorically they are complete different land areas altogether with different authority apart from Kao land according to history.

I am talking about Kao land from my grandmother’s side and not from my grandfather’s side as you have assumed. So Peter Misitana, you are right to point out that we do descend from someone originally from West Are’are which Kevin Suliau wants to deny. However, sad to say that you have misunderstood the entire concept regarding to my current position and status as to how on earth I have managed to claim primary ownership of Kao land with the exclusion of those from other neighbouring tribes within Baefua that you have rightly mentioned in your article.

In other words, my right over Kao land has nothing to do with my very connection with that very person who was originally from Are’are as you have stated. In other words, history of Kao land in accordance with our Malaita culture and custom has mandated me to inherit that very right of ownership which the High Court of Solomon Islands had even recognised that very important bond of connection. See High Court ruling and decision of 1995, ref: (HC-LAC9.95) for verification.

Secondly, I don’t think going to the media like this would help us able to sort out our ocean of differences. Remember, the House of Chiefs of Olemaoma, the Malaita Local Court, the Customary Land Appeal Court (Malaita) as well as the High Court of Solomon Islands had jointly recognised my legality and right of ownership over Kao land. So it is not a mere fabrication as you might have first thought of. So what is still there that you really want to tell me about then?

However, it is your right to challenge the above court’s decisions if you and Kevin Suliau were not satisfy with those series of court rulings because that is the formal procedure that we have to go through, not through public media or use of propaganda statements. I can only relinquish my authority and right over Kao land to anyone but only after a possible court proceeding is done and not through other backdoor transactions.

That to me is the only appropriate procedure to help find a long lasting solution and not through character assassination and personal attack against one another in public.

Finally my plea to both Peter Misitana of Lau lagoon and Kevin Suliau of Akwa’afungia if it is possible for the three of us to use other alternative avenues and options somewhere in order for us to help iron-out our differences rather than to finger-point each other in the media which I think is not really in the best interest of the general public.

Media debating, however, is an absolute waste of time and even not in the best interest of those not from North Malaita either. I would suggest that we keep the discussion only to a certain limit. All in all I still maintain my stand that Akwa’afungia undeniably is not a land or tribe but a shrine located outside of Kao land. Walo on the other hand is a complete different land portion stretching from Kwakwale river right up to Ndari stream. Concerning the SDA Mission at Kwailabesi, I would still maintain my stand that they do freeze from conducting any further developments there whilst we still in the process of sorting out the new lease trustees.

I hope people like Peter Misitana and Kevin Suliau should have a clear debating motive and not those who try to lobby or tempt other people to reveal about their very own secrets and history just for the sake of having a public debate.

For that reason I will abide to Adolf Hitler’s well know war time catch phrase – ‘Trust no one, even the walls have ears’.

 

Ambrose Oiofa Dolofera

Bishop Epalle Catholic School

Honiara

 

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