Detained popular S. Sudanese popular singer moved to Juba

March 19, 2021 (JUBA) – South Sudan on Friday moved to Juba a popular singer arrested and detained in the Western Bahr el Ghazal capital, Wau, despite public protests.

Family members told Sudan Tribune that Larson Angok was badly handled.

“The way they treated him today became a great concern to us as the family, but we appeal to members of the public to remain calm. We are following the case with the authorities”, the singer’s brother said in an interview.

The director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Wau told Sudan Tribune on Thursday that he acted on directives given by his superiors in Juba.

“I can tell you Larson Angok is in our custody. He is safe. There is no problem. Our work is to implement directives given from the headquarters. We have been asked to arrest and take him back to Juba. We are now waiting for transport. When we get transport, he will be taken to Juba and from there, anybody wanting to know the cause will go and hear,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“For us, we do not know. We acted on directed”, he added.

Family members and friends shared video clips showing him on a police vehicle, surrounded by police personnel and people in plain clothes.

Since the singer’s arrest, no official statement has been released to explain the nature of crime committed and why there was no arrest warrant.

Angok’s lawyers have also not been permitted to query the cause of his arrest.

However, several people have continued to speculate the cause of the singer’s arrest, with some attributing to it a petition he wrote to President Salva Kirr in which he protested the way the national army was being treated and over a song he released, describing country’s ruling party (SPLM) as a political organization which embraces political converts at the expense of cadres.

(ST)