Condemned to die, Wawa survives TV’s tug of war and graduates from university
The trembling orphan who captured the nation’s hearts after being condemned to death by his cannibal tribe is all grown up and a uni graduate – proof he didn’t need Channel 7 to save him.
Wawa Chombonggai was just six when he captured the nation’s hearts after 60 Minutes revealed he had been marked for death – and to be eaten – by his cannibal tribe in the dense tropical reaches of Indonesian Papua.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the trembling youngster was soon at the centre of an unseemly tug of war as cynical Australian television executives sought to cash in on his dire predicament by “rescuing” him on camera as part of their never-ending battle for ratings supremacy.
Now, two decades on, he has paid tribute to the man he credits with actually saving his life – 60 Minutes’ Indonesian fixer, Kornelus Sembirang, after graduating with a sport science degree from the State University in the North Sumatran city of Medan.
“Thank you to my parents, father and mother, who always supported me in everything starting from my early childhood until now,” he said online last week.
“Congratulations also to father and mother for successfully schooling all of us children until the end. Lord Jesus bless us all.”
Chombonggai has every reason to feel blessed. Nine Radio’s 2GB breakfast host, Ben Fordham, was still a young reporter when he stumbled on Chombonggai in the most perilous of circumstances while searching for the “lost Korowai tribe” for 60 Minutes in West Papua in 2006.
The young orphan had just been denounced as a Khakhua-Kumu – or male witch – by his cannibal tribe after the unexpected deaths of both of his parents.
After being found guilty of sorcery, the tribe was planning to hunt the boy and devour his flesh as part of a revenge killing designed to vanquish his evil magic.
Despite grave concerns, the 60 Minutes team ultimately decided it would be irresponsible to intervene with the tribe’s customs – although only after being reassured Chombonggai was safe for at least the next 10 years.
But when footage of the terrified boy was picked up by outlets around the globe, rival network Seven hatched a plan to save him – while capturing the moment on camera.
It dispatched the host of its now-defunct Today Tonight program, Naomi Robson, and a crew to mount a daring rescue. But the mercy mission was over almost as soon as it began as Robson and her team were arrested within hours of entering Indonesia and deported for not having an appropriate visa.
What followed was a vicious slanging match between the networks, as Seven accused Nine of dobbing it in, while Nine claimed Seven was taking advantage of Chombonggai’s plight.
In the midst of it all, Fordham’s fixer, Sembirang, quietly returned to the boy’s village and saved him.
Fordham, who found discovering young Wawa’s fate to be one of the “most chilling moments” of his career, said he was pleased to see him all grown up and as a confident and successful young man.
“Wawa was just a scared little boy when we first met,” he told The Australian. “The poor kid had no idea he was at the centre of a stupid TV tug of war in Australia.
“For the record, we did not leave Wawa behind to be eaten by cannibals. We simply followed the advice of a trusted local guide who assured us he would be safe.
“But a TV executive in an airconditioned office at Channel 7 thought he knew better and launched the world’s most ridiculous rescue mission. Wawa’s graduation highlights the point he never needed rescuing by Naomi Robson.”
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