Who was John Kawi?

Trevor
15/06/2017

From The National newspaper -- http://giaman.com/s/ab

 

The late retired Judge, John Kawi, who was one of the country’s prominent nlegal minds, died in May 2017 in his fifties.

His story should inspire many of us. He was born on September 19, 1963, at the Mugil health centre in the Sumkar District, Madang, as the fifth child of Susannah Malbug and John Sagir.

He attended Megiar Primary School where he completed grades 1-6. He then moved on to Malala Secondary School where he completed grades 7-10 and he finally received his higher education certificate after completing years 11 and 12  at St Fidelis Minor Seminary School in Madang.

After high school he studied law at the University of Papua New Guinea from where he graduated in 1989 and was admitted to the bar the same year. As a young lawyer, he joined Kei Vuatha Kapa and Associates.

By the end of 1991 he had married Justina Kameata at St Joseph’s Catholic church in Port Moresby. His time at Vuatha Kapa and Associates prepared him well and by 1993 he was a legal officer attached with the Office of the Public Solicitor.

He completed a year with the Victorian bar (Melbourne) and then re-joined the Solicitor-General’s Office until he himself became Solicitor-General. During this time, he continued studying through correspondence and graduated with a Masters Degeree in  Law from the prestigious University of Melbourne.

In 2002, he left the Solicitor-General’s Office to contest the general election, but was unsuccessful. He later joined the law firm O’Briens Lawyers. From then on Kawi was heavily involved in the community, first with the mine agreement with Chevron – on secondment from O’Briens Lawyers – down in the western province, and the Julian Moti inquiry.

It wasn’t until Februarr 26, 2010, that he was appointed to the bench as a National and Supreme Court judge and served in the judiciary until February 5, 2016, when he resigned. He died in May 2017 aged 54, after a long illness.

He is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughtes. According to his wishes, he is buried at 9-Mile, Port Moresby.

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