Papua New Guinea broadcaster Roger Hau’ofa has died of kidney failure in his wife’s village of Iare in Central Province.
Hau’ofa, 73, was the brother of Tongan author and sociologist ʼĒpeli Hau’ofa, who founded the Oceania Centre of Arts and Culture at the University of the South Pacific.
He suffered kidney failure in 2015 and had been on dialysis ever since.
His daughter Michelle told the media he did not want to die in hospital and was flown back to Iare to be with his family.
“Dad had suffered for more than a year now and had spent a month in intensive care at the Pacific International Hospital,” she said.
“In the end, he was just tired of the needles and tubes as it was a very painful experience for him.
“He asked to stop all treatment.”
She described her father as “passionate” about PNG and its people.
Hau’ofa was described as the voice of Papua New Guinea’s political, social and economic consciousness.
He worked with the national broadcaster, the NBC, and later with FM100.
PNG writer Martyn Namorong told Radio New Zealand Hau’ofa was “a real institution” whose voice had been heard by millions of Papua New Guineans.
“During some of the biggest crises that PNG has gone through – political upheavals like the Sandline crisis, the Somare crisis in recent times – Roger was a neutral voice that all parties could talk to and get their message out on radio,” Namorong said.
“So he definitely was someone that not just the ruling political class listened to and respected, but the everyday Papua New Guinean too.”
Hau’ofa was born of Tongan missionary parents Isikeli Hau’ofa and Mele Sikimeti on Misima Island in Milne Bay on Dec 28, 1943.
He had two sisters and two brothers. One of the sisters, Mele, ironically dying on the same day as he did but 21 years ago.
The main points
- Papua New Guinea broadcaster Roger Hau’ofa has died of kidney failure in his wife’s village of Iare in Central Province.
- Hau’ofa, 73, was the brother of Tongan author and sociologist ʻĒpeli Hau’ofa, who founded the Oceania Centre of Arts and Culture at the University of the South Pacific.
- He suffered kidney failure in 2015 and had been on dialysis ever since.
- Roger Hau’ofa was described as the voice of Papua New Guinea’s political, social and economic consciousness.
For more information
PNG’s radio talkback broadcasting legend Roger Hau’ofa dies
