South Sudan: Mr Khan Banguot Gok, a 28 years old Humanitarian Worker and Freelancer Journalist, was illegally arrested on the 23rd of December, 2022, in Akobo by the Akobo County Commissioner John Chuol Tot.
There were unsubstantiated rumours suggesting that the issue that led to his arrest was accusations connected to the appearance on social media platforms of certain controversial documents (letters written and signed by the Commissioner himself).
These letters are said to be written by the Akobo County Commissioner as a circular within his county government. Some suggested that these controversial documents were deliberately published on social media platforms as sabotaging methods for former Akobo County Commissioner Gatwech Reat Deang.
For over three weeks now, my brother has been kept in illegal detention in the Akobo prison facility. He is forced against his will to endure a deplorable situation without charge against him by a Satisfied Law Enforcement body. Yet there’s no judicial or other County’s local government authority entrusted and/or empowered by the Akobo County Commissioner in order to review as appropriate the continuance of my brother’s detention. For how long will the Akobo County Commissioner keep this young man in illegal detention?
The arrest of this young man by the Akobo County Commissioner is deemed illegal because “an arrest can only be made by following the procedure laid down under the Code of Criminal Procedure.
“The police can take this young man into custody or detain him without arresting him while investigating the crime that he was accused of its commission”.
Moreover, the Commissioner would have been required to produce this young man before a Public Attorney General within 24 hours of taking him in custody if the Commissioner wanted to detain him for longer.
The Public Attorney General is the one who can send this young man after he is produced before him or even any person arrested by warrant to police custody for 15 days. After 15 days, the police would have to present this young man before the Public Attorney again. And at this stage, the Attorney could be the one to send my detained brother to further judicial custody for 60 to 90 days. After this period, the detainee has the right to be released unless a charge sheet is filed.
Therefore, we, the family, regarding the arrest of this, my young man, as having somewhat never been duly recorded (the reasons for the arrest, the result of the alleged investigation findings, the time of the arrest and the taking of the arrested brother to a place of custody.
And more importantly, we, the family not aware of his preparation for appearance before a judicial or other authority; in all the above cases, during the arrest of this my younger brother, the procedure was not followed by the Akobo County Commissioner, nor does he pays attention to the constitutional mistakes that he is committing in his leadership.