Five suspects said to die in police custody in S. Sudan
By Isaac Vuni
June 18, 2009 (JUBA) – The Lopit Community strongly condemned the death of five suspects who were in police custody of Eastern Equatoria state in April this year.
The detained men are said to have suffocated in a container while they were being held on suspicion of killing of ten people who had been travelling in two government cars on the way to Imehejek in late December 2008.
Members of the Lopit and Tennet (Tenet) tribes, which inhabit a hilly part of Equatoria, clashed with each other in December 2008.
Some reports suggest that among those in the ambushed vehicles was the commissioner of the county, and that the ambush took place after raids on a small village and cattle camps. Members of the Tennet tribe have alleged that the killings on the road to Imehejek took place execution-style. In a letter to the governor of the state, a representative of the Tennet community in Arilo Payam alleged that the bodies of the slain were dismembered and mutilated.
According to the statement from Lopit Community, the suspects in this case were apprehended and taken into police custody at Imehejek when the state government intervened in an inter-communal conflict on December 29 2008. Sudan People’s Liberation Army forces were deployed to help contain land disputes and cattle rustling, but pulled out on April 2, 2009.
Before the SPLM withdrew, they are said to have handed over the police cell to county prison warders. On the same night, county authorities ordered the immediate shifting of detained suspects from police custody to a container owned by a local organization called AVSI. The suspects died by suffocation in the extremely hot temperature of the container.
Consequently, the first casualty was late Lecha Lobura Hatura who died on April 6, followed by Partict Loucholi Lekerua, Amoto Lefio Larasa, Lahatar Natale and John Ilongoji Emilio on April 7.
The document takes note of the absence of a formal judicial system in the south Sudan and further appeals to neighbours of the Lopit people to bring peace and reconciliation within the same payam while ensuring that culprits involved in killing innocent people are brought to book.
They also call for recovering 259 looted head of cattle back to the owners, assisting to investigate and try those involved in a competent court of law. The cattle were reportedly taken by Logonowati gangs on December 29, 2008 from Lohobohobo, Lehinyang and Mura Lopit villages followed by Logonowati’s attack on Lohobohobo and Lehinyang on December 26, 2009.
Lopit also hailed the recent kings and chiefs’ conference held in Bentiu, the capital of Unity state and urged all states to refrain from violence, joining hands to promote peace and unity among southerners in general.
The document was made available today after signing on June 5 by Eliseo Oyani Isaac on behalf of Mura Lopit intellectuals, chiefs, women, and youth.
(ST)
truth to be told in SouthSudan
Five suspects said to die in police custody in S. Sudan
Dear fellow SouthSudan,
This is a tragic to all of us in southsudan. The death of suspects under police custody is total mulfuctions of the weak SouthSudan police system. A person suspected of any wrong doing is not guilty until proved by the court of Law. The police should be held accountable here to the death of this inmates. There was no dual process carried out here. These suspects could have been found not guilty in the court system. The equatorian police and the Goss court system should answer to why the let inmates suffocated under their custody. I kindly think GOSS judiciary System is behaving the same way as dictatorship government whereby if person is accused of crime, then automatic he or she is guilty of that crime and should be hanged immediately. This is not the way the democrated system of Government work.
There should be accoutability here despite these gross nature of the crime carried out here by this suspects.
postmortem
Five suspects said to die in police custody in S. Sudan
I am so sad with the continuous deterioration of our legal system. Many of our people have died innocently in such situations when they shouldn’t have in the first place.
Article 23 (1) of the Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan 2005, is clear on the rights of suspects /accused persons. Suspects remain suspects and their human rights are not in any way. They remain innocent until proven guilty by presentation of evidence by the state prosecutor in a competent court with jurisdiction to try the offences allegedly committed.
The negligence of the police should be looked into and the responsible persons must face the law for the loss of the lives of these people who died as suspects. Their rights to be presummed innocent, right to safe places of confinement. right to life and right to liberty have been violated with impunity. Shame on the government of Eastern Equatoria for not talikng these matters seriously.
Is there any law that provides for suspects to remain i police custody for over 4 months? It was illegal unless the judge renewed their custody. Secondly the stay of these people in custody was against their right to be produced in court and tried within a reasonable time.
South Sudan Human Rights Commission must investigate the circumstances that led to this unwarranted loss of lives and come up with recommendations that makes the GOSS liable vicariously for the acts of its servants the police.
The families of the deceased persons must lodge a complain with the SSHRC urgently to be seek regress for the loss of their relatives and receive compensation.
Chol
Five suspects said to die in police custody in S. Sudan
Hi dear reporter, please take note of your dates of such important incidents; we are not in December of 2009 yet.
T