S. Sudan army chief ordered arrest of ex-Wau governor: official

September 23, 2016 (WAU) – Chief of General Staff of South Sudan’s national army (SPLA), Paul Malong Awan ordered the arrest and detention of the ex-governor of Wau state, Elias Waya, an official claimed.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Awan ordered for the former governor’s arrest the day President Salva Kiir invited the latter to report to the capital, Juba.

“When Elias came to Juba, it was the president who called him from Wau, but he was denied for the all-day [the chance] to see the president. This was after Paul Malong acknowledged that the president was planning to remove him and replace him with Waya,” he told Sudan Tribune.

“The presidential plans were already leaked by those who are closed to him, the plan to remove Paul Malong and replace him with Waya,” he added.

According to the official, when the ex-governor was removed from office, Awan ordered a security officer to arrest him, but the plan allegedly failed.

Sudan Tribune could not verify these claims made by the official.

Waya is reportedly being detained at the national security headquarters in Juba, as government officials try to find a solution to his dispute with Awan.

Malong had several times infuriated Kiir, particularly when he criticized the president for accepting to sign the peace agreement in August 2015

(ST)