South Sudan president meets Warrap state politicians amid arrest of another youth
July 12, 2015 (JUBA) – South Sudanese president Salva Kiir on Sunday held a private meeting with politicians from his home area of Warrap state; the same day another youth member of a group critical of the performance and extension of the office term of governor Nyandeng Malek was arrested by government agents at Juba north police station.
The youth have so far remained behind bars since they were arrested in violation of the 24 hours constitutional requirement for any suspect to be produced before the court of law.
Speaking to Sudan Tribune on Sunday, a member of the Warrap state legislative assembly currently visiting Juba said a group of Warrap parliamentarians had met and held discussions with president Kiir over a host of issues affecting the state and the country at large and explored ways they could be addressed at all levels.
The group, according to the legislator, also conveyed to the president greetings from the people of state and congratulatory messages on the celebration of the fourth independence anniversary.
“We met the president today [Sunday]. It was a private meeting with him,” Ariech Mayar Ariech, a member of the group who met the president said without giving additional comments.
However, another member of the group who attended the meeting said they had conveyed to the president all the issues for which they came to the capital of the country to seek meeting with him and members of his administration.
The official did not divulge the details of the issues they had taken to the president but said one of the issues was the call of the people of the state to not extend the term of office of Warrap state governor, Nyandeng Malek, asserting that the governor had failed her service.
“There was nothing which we did not tell the president. We carried to him a box of issues from Warrap state and this box was opened before him today and it is up to him to decide and make a decision,” he said.
“For us we wanted to wash our hands from any blame. We have brought to president what the people of Warrap have told us to bring to him and it is up to him to take and act upon their request or ignore.”
If the president acted, he said, then he would have answered the message and if he did not act the people of Warrap will have to know the delegation had done their best to deliver their message to “their son and the president of the nation who is the final authority.”
Meanwhile Joseph Akol Wek, a member of the youth group in the state currently visiting Juba told Sudan Tribune in a separate interview that as the president was meeting the Warrap state delegation one of their colleagues was again arrested by the national security personnel and taken to unknown location at Juba north police station.
“The national security personnel today (Sunday) arrested one of our comrades. They have arrested Machar Mankaracnak. He was at Juba North police station where we went to launch a case against one of the national security personnel who was disruptive of our meeting today,” Wek told Sudan Tribune.
He identified the national security personnel who disrupted their meeting as Ayuel Deng Ayuel, an in-law to the state governor, Nyandeng Malek.
“This guy came to the meeting and pretended to [be] a member of the civil society alliance at the national level. We told him the meeting was a meeting of Warrap state civil society”.
“Then he said the meeting was being illegally done but he was again told by a representative of the criminal investigation department (CID) who was invited to the meeting that the meeting was communicated to them and it was cleared and that why he was present at the venue. When he found that there was no way for excuses he decided to be disruptive, insulting anyhow,” he explained.
“So we decided to go Juba North police station to open a case again him. The police decided to detain him for investigation but then someone called from the national security came in a vehicle and told police he was instructed to take Machar into detention. Police tried to refuse but he insisted and wanted to cause another confusion and unnecessary situation.”
“We refused but it became a big issue until we were convinced to allow Machar to be taken. We don’t [know] what he has been accused of and who ordered the arrest,” he further lamented.
(ST)