Wawa Chombonggai, an Indigenous man from Papua, Indonesia, who was nearly eaten by his cannibal tribe at the age of six, has accused Australian media networks of exploiting his harrowing story for ratings.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Wawa expressed his discomfort over how his life story has been handled by the media. "I’m very closed now," he said from his home in North Sumatra. "I’m afraid of being tricked again or used as material for their media."
Wawa’s ordeal began in 2006 when Australian TV reporter Ben Fordham discovered him during an expedition for a 60 Minutes program for Nine Network. Fordham was in the tropical jungles of Papua searching for the cannibalistic Korowai tribe when he encountered Wawa. The young boy had been denounced as a witch by his tribe, who believed he had used sorcery to kill his parents after their sudden deaths. As punishment, Wawa was set to be eaten, but his uncle secretly sent him to a neighboring village to save his life.
Fordham described meeting Wawa as "the most chilling moment" of his expedition. Initially, he did not intend to interfere with the tribe's customs, with his guide, Paul Raffaele, emphasizing that it was their way of life. However, after footage of Wawa spread across various media outlets, Raffaele changed his mind. He unsuccessfully attempted to convince the network to return and rescue the boy, which led him to propose the idea to a rival network called Seven.
This spurred Naomi Robson, a presenter from Today Tonight, to attempt a rescue mission. However, Robson and her crew were arrested by Indonesian authorities for entering the country without proper documentation, leading to accusations that the Nine network had tipped off officials to block the rescue attempt and protect their ratings. Amid the chaos, the Nine's Indonesian guide, Kornelius Sembirang, eventually returned to the village and rescued Wawa himself.
Wawa explained that he later agreed to be part of an hour-long special on the network about his story after the producers said they would bring him to Australia for a follow-up story. However, after the first special, which took place in the village Wawa was rescued from, they never contacted him again.
Sembirang raised Wawa as his own son in North Sumatra. Now, Wawa leads a happy life and told the Daily Mail he is planning to pursue a degree in sports science.
