All the killings of police officers were done using illegal assault rifles smuggled into the region. Photo: Supplied
It was election year 2017, when police constables Glenn Jimmy and Alex Kopa were shot by a tribesman armed with M16s in Wabag, Enga province.
Jimmy and Kopa were members of the Hagen-based MS06, deployed to Enga as part of the election operations.
Both men were caught in a crossfire as they tried to quell the fighting that erupted between supporters. Another MS06 member, also at the scene, constable Mathew Kassap, was seriously injured.
The 36 months leading up to the elections were turbulent on the political front.
In Port Moresby, then-Prime Minister Peter O'Neill battled to stay in power with multiple threats of votes of no confidence.
The internal power struggles played out in the elections as O'Neill's People's National Congress (PNC) fought to maintain its hold on power.
In the weeks leading up to the shootings, violence had escalated in the neighbouring districts of Kompiam-Ambum, Lagaip-Pogera and Kandep.
When the PNG Electoral Commission made a decision to conduct the counting of the Kandep seat in Enga's provincial capital, the violence also shifted from far flung Kandep to Wabag.
Armed supporters of the incumbent, the party leader, Don Polye and his PNC rival, David Manase, openly clashed in Wabag town.
There were allegations of vote rigging and accusations that the Electoral Commission was compromised.
More policemen killed
In the Southern Highlands, the political rivalry between sitting governor William Powi and his rival Joe Kobol played out in violence in and around the provincial capital, Mendi.
Within a span of weeks, more policemen were killed.
Constables Andy Kotage and David Kundu were gunned down at a roadblock set up by armed supporters. Within the same period, another police officer was killed in Poroma in the Nipa District.
As people followed news of the politics and the violence, angry Papua New Guineans shared pictures of MS06 members loading the bodies of their fallen comrades onto the police helicopter.
The mobile squad was subsequently ordered to return to their base in Mt Hagen.
Illegal weapons
Those incidents brought the total number of policemen killed in the 2017 elections to five - the highest number of officers killed in any election year in Papua New Guinea.
All the killings of police officers were done using illegal assault rifles smuggled into the region.
Senior officers like Assistant Commissioner Police (ACP), Western Division, Joseph Tondop, who also heads a state of emergency in Pogera and surrounding areas, said police continue to confront tribesmen armed with assault weapons.
However, disarming them en masse using limited resources in tight-knit village communities is always difficult.
"We need good intelligence. People are not willing to give up their weapons easily," he said.
Over the last 40 years, assault weapons have become highly valued. The possession of weapons equals dominance in tribal warfare and, in some cases, election results that are in favour of the most heavily armed tribe.
While many of the weapons, like the M4-A1 riles were brought in more recently, others, like the older FN-FALs, have been in the possession of tribesmen for the last 30 years, with most of them acquired at the end of the Bougainville Crisis.
One of the most prominent voices against illegal weapons in Papua New Guinea, retired Major General Jerry Singirok, has repeatedly called on government to review and implement the recommendations of the Gun Control report he wrote more than 20 years ago.
"We've lost control in many areas," he said.
Personal trauma
Between 2018 and 2024, eight police officers were killed in the line of duty in various parts of the country.
Acting Assistant Commissioner for Police in the National Capital District, Peter Guinness, who has served in various capacities over 30 years, explains that the trauma of having comrades killed in the line of duty is a burden many continue to bear.
"As a commander, you don't want to see your policemen and women killed in the line of duty. That's the last thing you want to see," he said.
"There is little in the way of psychological support for members of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary serving in difficult situations.
Guinness himself has had personal experiences where his closest friends and police officers were gunned down by criminals. "It's hard on you because it becomes very personal.
"Outside of their family circles, the deaths have become a blur on the timeline of events.
"Many of the criminals responsible for the deaths of police officers still have not been brought to justice.
