New drama on the case of detained governor of Western Equatoria

August 6, 2006– It has been almost two months, since the 15th of June 2006, when President of Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), Lt Gen Salva Kiir Mayardit issued a Presidential decree suspending Governor Col. Patrick Zomai of Western Equatoria state and putting him under house arrest. The Communities of Western Equatoria have made it very clear to the GoSS president that this detention had no legal bases judging by the circumstances of the case and it is moreover a violation of the CPA as well as undermining the credibility of the infancy democracy and self rule in the Southern Sudan. The whole public opinion in Southern Sudan is also against such illegal detention of the Governor who was constitutional selected by his people and there are procedures laid out in the CPA if there was any case for the Governor to answer. But none of such right procedures were followed in the move to detain and suspend the Governor. During his recent visit to the US the First Vice President of Sudan and the President of GoSS avoided to discuss the details of the case with the Southern public in US making it hard for the Southern people to take their president serious in his determination to resolve the issue.

With reference to this background then came more new drama to the case of the detained Governor. On Friday 4th of August 2006, in Juba, a security brigadier was sent to summon the Governor before the same old three men committee which already made its recommendation on which the President acted with his decree of suspension and house arrest of the Governor. The security Brigadier went to the house and asked the Governor that he was to go and appear before the said committee immediately by ten o’clock. The Brigadier had arrived to find the Governor sitting in his night pyjamas. When told the news that the Governor was required to appear before a committee sitting to hear his case, the Governor asked that he be allowed to take a bath and change and dress properly to go to the office where the committee was sitting. The security brigadier said that the Governor is just to get into the car and be taken without changing his clothes or preparing himself. The Brigadier cocked his gun and said he will shoot the Governor dead if he did try to go into the house to change. So the Governor complied and went with the security man. When they arrived with the Governor in the office in his pyjamas the committee asked why he was brought in like that? The governor then told them the security man they sent cocked his gun and said he would shoot if I tried to change and prepare to come and appear before you. The committee members just said these are normal things for the SPLA soldiers. Then they said they cannot allow the Governor to sit and answer questions before them in his pyjamas and he has to be taken back to change and be brought back at 2 p.m. the same day. They also presented him with a statement document which they wanted him to sign but upon checking the Governor found that it was written in Arabic and only copied to Attorney General and the Minister of Security of the Government of Southern Sudan. Then the Governor told them he will not sign a document presented to him written in Arabic and not in English and also not copied to the President of GoSS and his Vice. After heated exchange on this the said committee then produced an English version of the document still copied to the minister of security and interior only. But the Governor said that if it is only copied to Attorney General and Minister of Security while President Salva Kiir and Vice President Dr. Riek Machar are not copied he will not sign it still. So the Governor refused to sign it unless it was also copied to President Salva Kiir who made a decree to suspend him. After all these events and deliberations the committee then adjourned the case hearing for the coming Monday, 7th August, 2006.

On Monday the Governor is expected to ask the said committee to be dismissed because this same committee already made their report and presented it to the President of GoSS and it was said it was because of this committee verdict that was why the Governor was suspended and put under house arrest. What else again can they do after the President issued a decree to suspend the Governor and put him under house arrest? Why did the President himself or other appointed higher new impartial committee not be the one hearing the case with the old three men committee on one side and the Governor on the other side to defend himself with his lawyers against any accusations the three-men committee had labelled against him? Also the hearing was said to be in secret without allowing neither time for the Governor’s lawyers to be present nor the representatives of the press and concerned notables from the communities who were involved in the clashes in Western Equatoria. This case caught the attention of the whole world and the public and lawyers and the press need to be involved in the hearing and it should not be behind closed doors with only a three men committee with their security forces.

The fact that the same old committee is the one being told to question the Governor shows that either President Salva Kiir is not serious about the Southern Sudanese desire and wishes as many people talked and made appeals to him to resolve this case quickly or he is just trying to belittle the case of Western Equatoria since Western Equatoria seems to be of no value to the Vice President of Sudan and President of Government of Southern Sudan. Since the suspension of Governor Zamoi many ethnic clashes had flared up in many places in Southern Sudan and many people have been killed in factional fighting in Lakes state and in Movolo in Western Equatoria state and in many other parts of Southern Sudan. Some commanding officers who encourage some of this violence are well known like the one who led a group to attack the people of Movolo recently whereby even some of his men died in the clashes and yet nothing is being done except wasting efforts to undermine the people of Western Equatoria by suspending their governor on false charges and a biased investigation committee which is again is being told to hear the Governor’s case . According to the constitutional position of the Governor, this committee has no mandate to try the Governor, impeach him or treat him they way they are doing now. All these are direct violation of the CPA as general procedures for Governance and rule of law were clearly defined in the CPA.

The people of Western Equatoria will continue to appeal to the President of the Government of Southern Sudan to look at the circumstances of this case and have it resolved quickly as the Southern Sudan needs reconciliation and development programmes and not alienation and exclusion of others as practiced by the defunct minority clique regimes of Khartoum we fought to eradicate. The case of the detention of Governor of Western Equatoria is a test case for the credibility of Southern Sudan and the GoSS need to find an amicable solution quickly rather then allowing the case to drag and harming the credibility of our new worn self rule and government in Southern Sudan. If the case cannot be progressed in a just way quickly then the people of Western Equatoria expect the President of Government of Southern Sudan to dismiss the case as unfortunate and allow fresh start and reconciliation to take place.

Eng. Charles B. Kisanga

Eng. Kisanga is chairman of Azande Community World-Wide Organisation and he can be reached on [email protected], Tel: +44-770899 8373.