Sir Pita Lus, the man who convinced Sir Michael to be Prime Minister

In February 2021, when Sir Michael Somare passed on, the person I thought about a lot was Sir Pita Lus. 

The old knight was and has always been there. His life and stories intertwined with that of Sir Michael. 

As they aged, the hilarious public banter that they engaged in was always something younger people looked forward to when they got together.

in 2019, at a Pangu party meeting in Lae, they recounted what happened before 1975.

The men jested while they weaving a powerful historical account of their dislike for foreign rule that stuck  in the minds of people who were there.  

In 2003, when Sir Michael was Prime Minister, he landed unannounced at Sir Pita’s village in Maprik during a provincial visit.  Sir Pita had retired earlier and was surprised and rather “annoyed” that the Prime Minister had come unannounced when he was unprepared to receive him.

Over the sound of the rotors, I could hear Sir Pita yelling at Sir Michael after hugging him.  

“Taim yu kam, yu mas kam lukim mi pastaim!!” (When you come, you must come and see me first!”)

Before his exit from politics,  Sir Pita Lus  was the longest serving member in both the old house of assembly and the Papua New Guinea Parliament when it  was established much later.

Throughout his career, he was known as  the straight shooting,  unapologetic old school member of parliament.  He was not always politically correct. Not that he cared.

In between, his comical statements and sometimes abrasive responses to the speaker and younger members of the house, it left many people wondering if good old Pita Lus with his stinging Sepik humor would ever be seriously penalized.

During the election of Sir Mekere Morauta and Prime Minister in Parliament, Sir Pita, impatient  with the speaker’s apparent slow counting of votes, silenced younger members of the house when he told them…

“Mi stap lo displa haus taim yupla hangamap yet lo bol blo papa blo yupla.”

It was loud live on EMTV. The serious event was momentarily disrupted as the house erupted in laughter.

Pita Lus was one the of the first Papua New Guineans to enter into politics when opportunities came.  He was voted in as member of Drekikir Open.

He sought out others who wanted to see an  end to foreign rule.  During his first term in office we went to Port Moresby and found Michael Somare, a teacher turned broadcaster, and tried to get him to run for office.

Sir Michael has always acknowledged Sir Pita as the man who convinced him to go into politics. Sir Pita said Michael  Somare was educated, spoke good English and was ideal candidate for Prime Minister.

“I took him to the village and told people that I am endorsing him for elections and later, I told him that we were going to take over the country and kick out the foreigners and you are going to be Prime Minister.

“He (Sir Michael) said…Ah! No… I’m not ready. I said, I’ve said it and this is how it is going to be.”

In March in Wewak, after Sir Michael’s passing , when I spoke to him, he said  Papua New Guinea has to remain united.  He said that the diversity was an important part of the country that needed to be embraced and appreciated.

“People must own the economy. You cannot allow foreigners to take over all your businesses and leave you with nothing. That is not what we fought for.”

Featured image was photographed by Tom Kotupi of Kalakai Photography. Tom is a teacher based in Wewak.