Victimization of innocent people by framing charges
By Ohiyok D. Oduho*
July 24, 2006 — Events have revealed that the arrest of an Agriculture Minister by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in Torit was triggered by personal hate. Paul Omoya Thomas, a Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Colonel (Col) was arrested and now it is confirmed by an SPLA Commander (Cdr.) who said the Minister was “bundled up”, and that he is now languishing in one of the SPLM/A concentration camps in Yei County, Central Equatoria State, CES. However, although the details of his treatment in the concentration camp in Yei County, CES, are sketchy due to poor communications with Juba and Torit, it is understood that he and other detainees are being mistreated because the SPLA are not following the conventional government’s laid down procedures of dealing with political detainees.
Col. Omoya was arrested when Lt-Gen. James Wani Iga, the Speaker of Government of South Sudan (GoSS) Interim Legislative Assembly (GOSSILA), visited Torit town for undisclosed reasons. The government of Eastern Equatoria State (EES) organised a dinner in honour of the Speaker at the State Guest House (SGH). This alleged dinner was supposed to be attended by the cabinet of EES. Col Omoya responded to the invitation and arrived the SGH. While greeting his other colleagues inside, he realised his four bodyguards were quarreling and disarmed by the SPLA soldiers. He came out of the SGH to see what was happening outside with the aim of settling any differences between his bodyguards and the SPLA soldiers. Unfortunately, he and his bodyguards were disarmed, thoroughly beaten ‘bundled’ up and detained in undisclosed location in Torit town. Col. was driven away from Torit in less than 24 hours.
SPLA officers from second Lieutenant to Cdr. have bodyguards, let alone a Minister. A bodyguard is a bodyguard, universally known to judge situations of danger to his boss and by law; they must have their guns cocked, ready to shoot when they subjected to a threat on the life of their boss. Why should Col. Omoya’s bodyguards be any different, especially given the kind of volatile situation in Torit where armed people infiltrate the town at nights and cause mayhem?
It must be recalled that certain individual within and without the cabinet of EES have personal grudges against Col. Omoya. A cabinet individual had clashed with Col. Omoya in the previous government, which was led by Abdallah Albert Ofuher.
Meanwhile, some Cdrs. from the former Equatoria Defence Force (EDF) who rejoined the SPLM/A less than a year before the signing of the Comprehensive peace Agreement (CPA) are unhappy because they rejoined the SPLM/A with only 500 EDF officers and men from a total number of over 3,000, a matter that made the SPLM/A doubt them. The EDF officers and men who refused to rejoin SPLM/A pledge their support and loyalty to Col. Omoya and other Cdrs who remained in EES. These soldiers were not interested in rejoining the SPLM/A.
Thus, this cabinet individual and the disgruntled former EDF officers made difficult the relationship between the current government of EES, the majority EDF officers and men who remained behind and the members of the previous government.
The cabinet individual and the disgruntled former EDF officers debriefed the Governor of EES on taking office, telling him lies, including unsubstantiated information that the former colleagues in the previous government were agents of the Khartoum government who were advancing the cause of Islam in Torit. As for the EDF who believed Col. Omoya denied them EDF forces, said the EDF who refused to rejoin SPLM/A were tools of the Khartoum government intended to be used to fight the SPLM/A and destroy the CPA. Statements such these could only be made by bootlickers or job seekers and can only be believed by corresponding minds.
The individual cabinet member and the disgruntled former EDF officers are said to have convinced the Lt-Gen. Iga and EES Governor, Brig. Ojetuk to seek for the lifting of Col. Omoya’s immunity and subsequently disarm him together with his bodyguards and that they should be thoroughly beaten, tied or ‘bundled up’ and locked away.
A Member of EES Interim Legislative Assembly, (EESILA) who is also the Chairman, Security and Public Order Committee, Emmanuel Ambrose Ocholimoi, stated that, “The assassination attempt was carried out by the State Minister of Agriculture, Paul Omoya, who is one of the remaining Cdrs. of EDF and also refuses to join either SPLA or the SAF. Omoya and his bodyguards were bundled up and taken to the SPLA detention house in Yei”, (Juba Post, July 20th-27th, 2006, p.1). Ocholimoi is a former EDF Operations Chief who had rejoined the SPLM/A less than a year before the signing of the CPA).
From the statement made above by Cdr. Ocholimoi, one would realise that he is full of hate and not reconciliation as it were, within the context of the CPA. However, someone would also wonder as to why the Lt-Gen. Iga and the EES Governor should listen to such disgruntled individuals, whose aim seems to be disuniting rather than uniting the State! The Governor is not for one or a group of people but everyone in the State! This is not surprising, anyway, because both Lt-Gen. Iga and the EES Governor are known as very weak individuals who would act on mere rumours almost immediately.
Moreover, in the middle of June 2006, a soul-searching meeting was organised by a senior SPLM/A member (name withheld) in Khartoum. The objective of this meeting was to discuss with the leaders of the South Sudan Defence Force (SSDF) the issue of how to disarm and reintegrate some of the SSDF – who would not be absorbed into the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) – to the SPLA. The meeting, which was attended by SSDF leaders from EES in Khartoum, was attended and addressed by Dr Riek Machar, the Vice-President of GoSS, the Governor of EES and two of his cabinet colleagues. The meeting had resolved that the leaders of the SSDF, who had attended the meeting and showed willingness to cooperate, should prepare to move with Dr Riek and the EES Governor to address those issues mentioned above in EES. This resolution was not implemented by neither Dr Riek nor the Governor himself. Dr. Riek may be busy but the Governor must have been carried away by intense rumours to drop the idea.
However, the SPLM/A continues to behave like a rebel movement rather than a government. It is a documented fact that while in the bush, SPLM/A under the leadership of the late Dr John Garang ordered court martial and execution of SPLA officers and men, including SPLM politicians who did not undergo any military training by radio messages. This was a policy aimed at unleashing maximum terror all members of the SPLM/A so that no one within the SPLM/A thinks of rebelling against the movement. The same policy seems to be pursued by SPLM/A unabated.
The evidence of this could be realised in the lashing of Agriculture Minister and a Commissioner in Western Equatoria State (WES), the arrest and detention of the Governor of WES, the detention of Agriculture Minister in Lakes State, and finally the arrest, beating, tying or ‘bundling up’ and detention of the Minister of Agriculture in EES. The lifting of immunity of Ministers by a phone call is yet another prove that the SPLM/A is in pursuit of its bush policies.
It is very difficult to comprehend the claim by GoSS that it respects the rule of law because the rule of law respects human rights of individuals. The basic human rights of the senior government officials mentioned above were not respected.
What message then is SPLM/A sending to the members of the international community who are suppose to assist in the efforts to reconstruct the South? Meeting members of the international community does not convince them that the leadership in South Sudan is ready to come out of its rebel mentality, a mentality that respects no rule of law and encourages corruption, a common phenomenon in GoSS and the governments of the ten South Sudan States now. The international community would obviously like to see the rule of law exercised but not abused.
It appears GoSS is displaying ignorance and indeed inability to run a modern government to the rest of the world. A promising modern government would start to practice – before institutionalizing – transparency/accountability and the rule of law. This could then be seen as a gesture of goodwill and donors would be encouraged to help not only by giving further donations but also by assisting in the development of institutions that would support and enhance transparency/accountability and the rule of law through training. Otherwise, how could GoSS expect the donors to entrust their donations to them when they have seen, with their own eyes, corrupt practices and the condoning of such practices by the GoSS leadership?
Unless the phrase ?rule of law’ has a different connotation in the SPLM/A vocabulary. Otherwise, the rule of law operates on the basis that everybody is innocent until proven guilty before a court of law. The rule of law respects the laid down legal procedures and applying them where it is appropriate. The rule of law respects all the international charters that advocate for the upholding of basic human rights of people, including senior government officials, not like taking pleasures in ‘bundling up, senior government officials like pieces of cargo.
Lt-Gen. Iga is a representative of greater Equatoria in the GoSS. It is incumbent upon him to protect all Equatorians in the GoSS within the basis of the laid down laws and procedures of GoSS. Lt-Gen. Salva Kirr Mayardit, the First-Vice President and President of GoSS, visited Rumbek on hearing that a similar crisis, which Lt-Gen Iga, the number two man in the South constitutionally, failed to resolve in Torit, was brewing in Rumbek. He sat down with his people and amicably resolved the crisis. Could it be possible that the leader of Equatoria cannot understand why he is in the GoSS and misplaces himself in the process?
Nonetheless, Lt-Gen. Iga and Brig. Ojetuk Should not forget that as long as the bush policies are being entertained and vigorously pursued in the GoSS and its State governments, they and indeed any other Equatorians could be victims next time. It was Col. Zamoi, Governor of WES yesterday, today it is Col. Omoya and God knows who could be tomorrow.
It would be appropriate to warn that unless some serious measures are taken to address the menace, more victims are expected to follow suit because Equatoria seems to be an orphan – without a leadership that could protect its own interest and certainly its own people from revengeful attitudes of some lawless South Sudanese in GoSS and SPLM/A.
However, Lt-Gen. Iga and the Governor of EES, Brig. Ojetuk, must be made to know that victimization of innocent people by framing charges against them, something SPLM/A is good in at, would not make them walk away with it. The people of Equatoria will hold them accountable in future. No one stays in position of authority forever, especially those who mistreat people of their constituencies. Elections are around the corner and those leaders who want to come back to power should protect their constituencies. Thus, as the English idiom says, ‘if you live in a glass house, do not through stones.’
* The author is a columnist at the Sudan Vision Newspaper. He is a former regional minister of Health in Eastern Equatoria. He can be reached at [email protected].