Community Demands Trial of Arrested Chiefs
The Kakwa Community representatives in Juba have demanded the release or trial of the chiefs arrested for supposedly supporting the M23 rebels in Democratic Republic Of Congo. 23 April 2013 By Waakhe Simon Wudu JUBA, 22 April 2013 [Gurtong] - On April 14, seven chiefs of Kakwa Community including the Chairperson of the Kakwa Community in Yei and an elderly politician were arrested by the state security operatives at night and the following morning they were brought to Juba. In a release read on behalf of the community by representatives at the National Assembly, the community condemned the arrest and detention of the chiefs and threatened to summon the state governor to the National Assembly over the matter. “We request the Governor of Central Equatoria State to unconditionally release the five chiefs, the Chairperson of Kakwa Community and the elderly politician. The Kakwa Community is refuting the statement of the Commissioner of Yei River County Mr. David Juma Augustine,” said the press release. The commissioner was reported as having said that the chiefs were arrested for supporting the M23 rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo. “We as Kakwa, has noted that the false allegations against our Chiefs and communities is politically motivated around the politics of land and resources in Yei River County. It was unfortunate that these were the same tactics used during the former Sudan, in which many of our people disappeared and their graves not known until today,” Hon. Paul Yowani Bonju the Chairperson of the Kakwa Community in Juba said while reading the release. The community have called land distribution and re-planting be halted at the moment in Yei Town. We are seeking for the intervention of human rights watch both nationally and internationally that there is intimidation of citizens by the government, Hon. Moses Bidali from Yei said. The community has also demanded the immunity of the Yei Commissioner be waved so that he testifies for the arrest of the chiefs in courts of law. The chiefs have now been detained for seven days and some of them are said suffer from diseases and no medication has been provided for them. Posted in: Home, Governance -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
