Papua New Guinea’s police minister on Monday condemned as “terrifying” alleged acts of cannibalism revealed in the press and on social media. A major national daily published front-page photos showing a group of men armed with machetes holding a severed leg, with none of them caught in any act of cannibalism, and one man licking the human remains on camera.
The police minister, Peter Tsiamalili, said he was extremely disturbed by the footage, which allegedly captures “terrifying acts of cannibalism”.
“A violent confrontation between two brothers escalated, leading to a heartbreaking outcome,” Tsiamalili told AFP, according to News.ro.
Villagers took sides in the conflict, “which led to the horrific killing of the elder brother by the younger brother,” the minister added.
“Such barbarism does not define us as a people or a nation,” he wrote Sunday in a statement after images and video footage of the clash went viral on social media.
“These barbaric acts by a group of young people not only shock our collective conscience, but present a serious threat to the values of our society that bind us together as a nation,” the minister denounced.
Police concluded that the footage was filmed in the Goilala district, in the center of the country, and that the crime took place “a month ago,” according to Tsiamalili.
Cases of cannibalism have been documented in history among a small number of tribes in remote regions in Papua New Guinea, the cause of old but powerful clichés that the country has been trying to rid itself of for decades.
In April 2024, US President Joe Biden suggested that his uncle had been devoured by cannibals after he defected to Papua New Guinea in World War II.
Prime Minister James Marape downplayed the claims and said the US leader was “confused”.
