South Sudan restricts movement of former deputy defence minister

March 25, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudanese government has restricted the movement of Majak D’Agoot, former deputy defence minister and member of the former political detainees (FDs), led in Juba by Deng Alor Kuol, former minister of cabinet affairs.

Agoot, according to reports circulated on the social media by his relatives and companions and which he has also confirmed, he was this week stopped by the government operatives when he attempted to travel to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to visit family .

No reason was provided by the government security operatives when they turned away the former deputy minister of defence at the airport and told him not to travel.

The official, however, stressed that he was not intending to leave the country for ill-motive.

The development proceeded a government’s decision notifying the group of the former detainees to which Agoot belongs of plan to stop providing them with accommodation after efforts have failed to implement the August 2015 peace agreement to which the FDs are a party.

Finance Minister, David Deng Athorbei, according to the 19 March, 2016, letter of notification seen by Sudan Tribune, explained that the government provided the officials with accommodation as a first step towards implementation of the peace agreement.

Athorbei explained that the accommodation of the FDs in Crown Hotel, one of the most expensive hotels in Juba where charges range between $300 and $500 US dollars per a night, was done with the hope that implementation of the peace agreement would take shortest time possible.

The minister told the FDs to leave the hotel by Thursday, 24 March 2016, and it was not clear where the senior political leaders were going to put up.

It was not however clear whether the decision to evict the FDs from the hotel was related to the planned trip outside the country by Agoot and whether or not this also resulted to his prohibition from movement.

Agoot was arrested in December 2013 days after the war erupted and was accused along with other 13 senior colleagues of allegedly attempting to stage a military coup to bring down President Salva Kiir’s government.

They were taken to court but were eventually acquitted and released months later and sent into exile in Kenya only to return to Juba in November 2015 after the signature of peace agreement.

The government has not yet lifted the state of emergency which President Kiir declared two years ago and continued to be used by security operatives to restrict movement of officials, particularly opposition leaders despite the peace deal to end the 21 months of war.

(ST)