19/11/2025
[English]
On November 12, 2025, KBE Mayor Tommy Irujiman Jibok joined KBE lawyer Jonathan Weisgall to attend the court case of The Kili/Bikini/Ejit Council on Behalf of the People of Bikini v. Arden Trust Company at Chancery Court. During the hearing, the lawyer for Arden Trust Co. moved to have the suit dismissed. After some deliberation, Delaware Chancery Judge Cook ruled that the case would not be dismissed but would instead move forward to summary judgment.
The KBE legal team and Lawyer Weisgall expressed high optimism for a successful future for the Bikinian people to Mayor Jibok.
Later in an interview, Mayor Tommy Irujiman Jibok said, "I had flown to Philadelphia early that morning from Oklahoma. I arrived at the Philadelphia airport in the afternoon, where KBE lawyer Jonathan Weisgall was there to meet us at the Airport. We walked and before we knew it, we were standing outside the courthouse. We walked in both sides made small arguments; then the lead attorney for Arden Trust Company asked that the case be dismissed. Before the KBE Council could say something, the judge began to speak. He spoke for nearly 30 minutes about how disappointed he was with how the trust funds—given to the People of Bikini by U.S. taxpayers—were allowed to be handled so carelessly. As I listened to the judge speak, my heart was moved, and all the sadness of what has happened to the people of Bikini in the past two years started to hit me. My eyes teared up as I sat in the courtroom seats, listening to his every word. I thought my going to Philadelphia was just to have a meeting with Weisgall and not to witness the fate of our People of KBE's future".
From the Marshall Islands, KBE Senator/Minister Jess Gasper Jr. stated, “This was a good day for our people. For years, the trust fund managers profited from our funds while neglecting their obligations, behaving as if they were tellers rather than guardians of our future and our people’s livelihood.”
This is the first step in the People of Kili-Bikini-Ejit fight for JUSTICE. The case is just starting.
.O.R.I.B.A, , , ,