By: Eoin Blackwell, AAP 

Papua New Guinea’s Deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah has called on three judges, including the chief justice of the Supreme Court, to resign.

In a full-page press statement in the Port Moresby-based The National newspaper, Mr Namah accuses Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia and Justices Nicholas Kirriwom and George Manuhu of “judicial corruption”.

Mr Namah also calls for the resignation of the registrar of the Supreme and National courts.

The 361-word statement is the latest public salvo in an ongoing dispute between high-ranking officials of PNG’s judicial system and elements of the national executive.

Police two weeks ago arrested Sir Salamo and court registrar Ian Augerea on allegations of misappropriating funds belonging to a deceased justice’s estate, releasing them soon after.

The court then placed a permanent stay on the case, calling the police investigation an abuse of process because the funds were correctly handled.

Citing an email allegedly written by Justice Manuhu and shared among judges, Mr Namah said it showed justices agreed that Sir Salamo had acted incorrectly in handling the funds, but had banded together to publicly protect him.

“Justice Manuhu on July 9, 2009 sent an email to then Justice Mark Sevua and Bernard Sakora that the `action of the registrar at the direction of the chief justice is contemptuous of the highest order’,” the statement bearing Mr Namah’s signature says.

Justice Kerriwom should resign because a leaked internal court memo written by him called for the court to unify and defend itself against the “regime” of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.

“This is not an attack on Sir Salamo Injia or the chief justice. It is an attack on the third arm of government by the executive, and we are sitting back and absorbing it all like always,” the memo said.

“There is a hidden agenda in all these persistent moves to oust the (chief justice) that we are not being told, but will become obvious in the not-too-distant future.”

Mr Namah could not be reached for comment.

As chief justice, Sir Salamo presided over last year’s Supreme Court battle that found Sir Michael Somare was unconstitutionally dumped from office following a vote by the majority of parliament.

The government tried to have him removed from the case three times and have twice ordered him to step down, only to have their announcement batted aside by the judiciary.

Sir Michael’s son, suspended MP Arthur Somare, said the attacks on the judiciary were a first in PNG’s 36 year-old democracy.

“Mr Namah is deliberately gnawing away at the independence of institutions that define our democracy,” he said.

“He cannot meddle in the internal workings of the judiciary. Judges are allowed to consult with each other. His utter contempt against the judiciary is dangerous for PNG’s future.”

Sir Michael’s choice for attorney-general, Sir Arnold Amet, said attempts to sideline the judiciary raised the possibility the government might try to defer the 2012 election.

“Consistent with the actions of the regime, we cannot rule out the possibility that an attempt may be made to defer elections by sidestepping the rule of law and the constitution,” he said.

The chief public proponent of deferring PNG’s June polls, Mr Namah recently announced the elections will take place as scheduled and that he had no power to stop them.

Parliament resumes on March 20.