Enarotali, Jubi – Chaos occurred in Moanemani area in Dogiyai Regency on Saturday, November 12, 2022, following the death of a toddler in a traffic accident in Ikebo Village, Kamuu District.
Head of Putapa Village in Kamuu District Otniel Yobee gathered the chronology and testimony of several villagers who witnessed the accident and told Jubi in a phone call on Saturday evening from the funeral home.
Otniel said at around 3 p.m. Papua time, a car was delivering timber belonging to a resident at the end of the road to South Kamuu, precisely at Mauwabaa. The car was parked across the road and the timber began to be unloaded. Next to the car, there were several piles of sand collected by residents for the road workers to buy. This narrowed the width of the road.
Meanwhile, on the same road at that time, trucks carrying materials for paving the road passed by.
After all the timber was unloaded, the customer paid the driver the delivery fee. When the transaction took place, behind the car, the late Jefri Tebai (4), was crossing the road. At the same time, several trucks carrying building materials passed by, heading to the city at high speed. However, the police version is different. According to the police, the victim’s name was Noldy Goo, aged five.
“The first truck hit the child and so did the second truck,” Otniel said.
Another source told Jubi that after the accident, the people at the location spontaneously burned the truck as a form of protest.
A joint force of police, mobile brigade, and Indonesian Military (TNI) arrived at the location and opened fire, as well as swept through the Moanemani Market complex to look for perpetrators. As a result, many people in the market fled the scene. During the chaos, two people had reportedly become casualties, one of them was a non-Papuan whose identity was not yet known. It was also unknown whether he was alive or not.
Another casualty was a Dogiyai civilian named Feleks Pigai, a member of the Bunauwo Village Deliberation Body in East Kamuu District. He got shot and reportedly died.
Papua Police spokesperson Sr. Come. Ahmad Musthofa Kamal confirmed that a truck accident in Dogiyai killed a 5-year-old child named Noldy Goo.
He said that currently, the joint forces of Dogiyai Police, TNI, Yon C Mobile Brigade and Cartenz Peace Task Force were still guarding the scene of chaos. According to him, the people who saw the accident attacked the driver and burned one house and two trucks.
“A group of people went to the police station and tried to take the driver but the police managed to contain them,” he said.
Masses from the direction of Mauwa and South Kamuu villages arsoned Ikebo Market but were dispersed by the security forces’ tear gas.
Currently, the truck driver, KM, and one victim of a stabbing by the mob have been evacuated to the Dogiyai Police Station.
Kamal further appealed to Dogiyai residents not to be provoked by the current situation and to trust the resolution of the case to the police.
Following the incident, a number of government offices in Dogiyai Regency were reportedly burned down on Saturday night. According to data compiled by Jubi, that includes the Regional Financial and Asset Management Agency Office (BPKAD), the Community Empowerment and Village Government Office (DPMPK), the Environmental Office, the Civil Registration Office, and the Inspectorate Office.
In addition to offices, some kiosks in Moanemani Market were also burned. There is no data yet regarding the number of losses and victims. (*)
