Third man who scaled Napier courtroom barrier to attack murderer admits guilt

Police entering Napier courthouse after the courtroom melee on September 11 last year. Photo / Ric Stevens

A man who scaled a 1.8m glass barrier in a Napier courthouse to attack a family member’s murderer in the dock has pleaded guilty and will be sentenced next month.

Today, Graham Cedric Mokaraka appeared in the Napier District Court where he pleaded guilty to assaulting a Corrections officer who had attempted to restrain him.

He had previously admitted a charge of injuring with intent to injure, relating to the defendant, Moses Mohi Taua.

Mokaraka will be sentenced on August 16.

He was one of four men who scaled the barrier separating the courtroom from the public gallery to attack Taua in the dock last September.

It is understood one of the four has since died.

The other two, teenage twins Trizarn and Cylus Henare, were the sons of Napier woman Arohaina Henare, who was stabbed to death by Taua in 2022.

Mokaraka and the 18-year-old twins had not expected to see Taua in the dock when they arrived at court with about 30 other relatives and supporters for an administrative hearing on September 11, last year.

They thought Taua would appear via audio-visual link, and became angry when they saw him in court in person.

Mokaraka quickly jumped the barrier, using a door handle as a foothold, followed by the twins and the fourth man.

In the melee that followed a Corrections officer suffered a knee injury and was left helpless on the ground.

Taua was later convicted of Henare’s murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years.

Arohaina Henare had been living in the garage of a property on Nuffield Avenue, Napier. Taua lived in the house on the property with his partner and four other occupants.

The twins have already been sentenced to 12 months of supervision and 150 hours of community service for their part in the courtroom attack.

Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer.