We want to know who killed twins too, says family [audio report]

The grave of Chris and Cru Kahui yesterday. Picture / Dean Purcell

A spokeswoman for the family of twins Cru and Chris Kahui, who died in hospital from unexplained injuries, has said today they also want to know what happened to the babies.

The family has faced pressure from Maori leaders, including Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia and Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples to break what police have called a pact of silence.

Prime Minister Helen Clark today joined them in urging the family to end the apparent cover-up and tell police what happened.

But a distant aunt of the twins, who was called in as an advocate while the three-month-old babies were on life support in hospital, said with the tangi over the information should come through today.

Ani Hawke said: "Today is the day where we will get down to the physical of finding out who did this.

"We want to know. The family want to know."

She said family members were speaking to the police today and were co-operating with the investigation.

The twins died in Auckland's Starship Children's Hospital a week ago, five days after they were taken to Middlemore Hospital by relatives.

Both had severe head injuries and one had a broken leg.

They had been staying at a house in Mangere, south Auckland, with their parents Sonny "Chris" Kahui and Macsyne King, two siblings, and members of the family.

Police have been frustrated in their investigations into the case so far and said the family had "stonewalled" them.

Helen Clark said today: "The people responsible need to come forward very, very quickly now. It has been a terrible, terrible tragedy."

She said the family was like that out of Once Were Warriors, the film which showed domestic abuse within a Maori family.

Dysfuctional families

There were many services available for dysfuctional families but "these kind of people" were difficult to help, she told Newstalk ZB.

"We're looking at the Once Were Warriors type family.... there is a small number of families which fall over every possible cliff and are very, very difficult to reach."

The twins' funeral was on Saturday and Mr Sharples said police had been gracious in allowing family members to farewell the twins.

Dr Sharples told National Radio the family of the twins had made a deal with police that they be left to grieve in return for co-operating afterwards.

He had gone to the tangi and had asked the family to "own up" and bring forward the person responsible for the twins' deaths.

He had been given an assurance they would go to police today.

"I just hope that they keep their word, it does happen and we can begin the investigation properly and put this matter to rest," Dr Sharples said.

Helen Clark said community pressure and pressure from senior family members on those responsible would lead to someone coming forward. "It's just a pity it's waited so long," she said.

Mr Horomia also said it was time for someone to take responsibility. "Somebody or some people must know about it, and they just need to step out," he said.

"We need to make sure we encourage people who know or see this happening to not be afraid and use common sense to finger people who do this."

Mr Horomia said it was important for Maori to address the problem of child abuse as a culture rather than rely on government agencies.

"If we rely totally on government agencies, or organisations or commissioners, for all the great efforts that they put into this -- and they do -- then where is our ownership."

He said those hiding the truth or not taking responsibility for the deaths were "gutless".

He has suggested a cross-party working group look at cases like this.

- NEWSTALK ZB, NZPA