By Bosco Bush
Greater Pibor Administrative Area has dismissed a report by the Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA) alleging gross human rights violations in the area.
On December 8th, Ter Manyang Gatwech, Executive Director of the CPA, issued a statement claiming that five local chiefs were arrested on November 15th by order of the Chief Administrator and detained without due process.
“These local chiefs were held in a police cell for longer than the 24-hour period mandated by the South Sudan Constitution of 2011, as amended,” he said, adding, “this detention constitutes a gross violation of human rights by the authorities in the Greater Bibor Administrative Area on November 15th, 2024.”
In response, GPAA Minister of Information, Jacob Werchum dismisses the report as unfounded claims meant to sabotage efforts of the Chief Administrator.
“The government of Greater Pibor would like to categorically refute the baseless claims and unrealistic allegations published by Ter Manyang, accusing GPAA of gross human rights violation.”
“These claims are unfounded and are being manufactured to sabotage efforts made by the Chief Administrator, His Excellency, Gola Boyoi Gola,” stated Jacob Werchum, GPAA minister of Information.
The minister said, there has been no mass arrest of chiefs as alleged, but rather an isolated case involving the murder of a teenage boy in Pibor town by assailants who were later discovered to be residents of one of the villages of Pibor County.
Upon investigations, Werchum said, a local chief whose suspects were hiding in his village was summoned to provide names of the perpetrators of the incident—which he complied with and got released on the same day.
The 2011 Transitional Constitution of South Sudan prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention without charge.
It also states that police cannot hold suspects for more than 24 hours without taking them to court.