Senior Constable Jacob Akaku was the proud recipient of the Dux Award for his excellent performance and successful completion of the Prosecutions Qualifying Program.

A local man from Tari in the Hela Province, Mr. Akaku has dedicated over 30 years of his life to the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) serving the people and upholding law and order.

His journey started in July 1995 when he graduated from the Bomana Police College (now Bomana National Centre of Excellence).

He didn’t start out in the courtroom, though. From 1997 to 1999, he worked on the Highway Patrol in Tari. In 2000, he moved into the prosecutions section. Today, he is the Acting Officer in Charge of prosecutions in Tari.

Working as a prosecutor in Hela isn't easy, he explained.

“The problem is that many people don't fully understand how the law works.”

He specifically pointed out that tribal fighting and sorcery-related violence are hard to prosecute because of local traditions.

In many cases, families prefer to settle crimes with money or goods outside of the legal system.

"When we try to take offenders to court, some people tend to say...because this is an issue that happened at home, they are more concerned about compensation. That is the greatest challenge that I face."

Even with these hurdles, Mr. Akaku has excelled within the RPNGC.

Since 2000, he has dealt with and successfully converted a significant number of cases from arrests to convictions in Mendi and Tari.

Winning the Dux Award at the recent Prosecutions Qualifying Program graduation in Port Moresby city was a pleasant surprise for him, but he was grateful for the training.

He feels more ready than ever to head back to work, saying the program has given him the right tools to handle the tough job of bringing justice to his province and the country.