Stephen Moi

Stephen Moi (sometimes referred to in historical documents as Stephen Moi Gill, though he was not related to William Booth Gill) was a Papuan teacher and assistant at the Anglican mission in Boianai. He was one of the mission's educated local staff and was among the 25 people who signed Father Gill's contemporaneous report after the main sightings.

His first sighting

Stephen Moi's first notable observation occurred before the famous mass sighting.

According to the report he gave to Father Gill:

At about 1:00 a.m. on June 21, 1959, he stepped outside his house.
He saw a bright white light descending from the sky over the sea.
The object hovered for roughly 30 seconds at an estimated height of around 300 feet (90 m).
As its brightness diminished, he said it became visible as an "inverted saucer" tilted slightly backward.
After several minutes, it climbed rapidly and disappeared into the clouds.

Father Gill considered the report unusual enough that he forwarded it to church authorities the day before his own famous encounter.

The June 26 sighting

When Father Gill first noticed the bright object on the evening of June 26, one of the first people he called was Stephen Moi.

Gill's notes record:

6:50 p.m. – Gill called Stephen.
6:52 p.m. – Stephen arrived and immediately agreed the object was not a star.
As the observation continued, both men watched what appeared to be human-like figures moving about on top of the object.
Witness to the "waving"

Stephen Moi was present during the most famous part of the encounter.

Along with Gill and many others, he witnessed:

Figures apparently walking on the upper surface of the craft.
The group waving toward the figures.
The reported response in which the figures appeared to wave back.
Continued observations of the object over an extended period that evening.
Why Stephen Moi matters

While William Booth Gill became the public face of the case, Stephen Moi is historically important because:

He was an independent witness whose observations began days before the main event.
He was among the first witnesses Gill consulted during the June 26 sighting.
His account was documented contemporaneously rather than being recalled years later.
His testimony was included in the signed mission report that has become one of the strongest pieces of documentation from the Boianai case.

Although much less is known about Stephen Moi's life than William Booth Gill's, his testimony forms an important part of the historical record. Researchers frequently cite him because his independent sighting on June 21 and his participation in the June 26–27 observations strengthen the case by showing that multiple educated members of the mission staff reported unusual phenomena over several consecutive days, rather than there being a single isolated witness