Day: November 1, 2021

A 67-year-old businessman was found dead inside his house in Juba’s Munuki neighbourhood over the weekend.

Lual Simon, a police officer who was at the crime scene on Saturday, told Radio Tamazuj that preliminary reports indicate that Mr. Morgan Ali Ugoro was shot dead by unknown gunmen inside his house.

“The tentative analysis shows that the deceased was attacked by unknown gunmen since there were footmarks at the entrance, four blank cartridges of bullets and blood,” Lual explained.

Khamisa Okila, a relative of the deceased, said: “I came to Juba from Wau immediately after I received a phone call from Wau about what had happened to Morgan.”

Okila said the late left behind four children.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

Authorities in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) have reiterated calls for the resumption of aid operations in Pibor town weeks after aid workers were evacuated for their safety following threats by disgruntled youth groups.

On October 5, about 78 aid workers were vacated from GPAA capital, Pibor town after being threatened by groups of youth who were demanding employment in positions meant for local youth in the aid organizations.

Since then, aid operations have been halted.

“Floodwaters are receding. The problem now is how we could rebuild our livelihoods because remember floods destroyed everything including our makeshift buildings,” One Pibor resident Zechariah Nyiboc, told Radio Tamazuj on Friday. “Again, no goods have been coming from Bor for some time now. So, our situation is worsening.”

Last week, the officials there expressed alarm over the dire health situation and delays in Covid-19 vaccination as humanitarian works remained stalled since October 5, 2021.

For his part, Lokale Amae Bullen, the GPAA chief administrator, decried the dire humanitarian situation, saying the local community is suffering the effects of the evacuation.

“People are really suffering. Well, flood victims who have been benefiting have had no food for about a month now. The malnourished children have not been getting their nutritional supplements either. Again, even the work on the roads is also stalled,” he stressed.

Amae called on the humanitarian workers to resume operations in the area promising that they will provide security and protection for them.

“Both the government and youth have reached out to the NGOs. We want them to come. On the side of security we will protect them while for other things I think they should come and investigate,” he added.

Attempts to reach out to the NGO Forum were futile.

Since the start of the year, the humanitarian workers have received threats from youth in different parts of the country, leading to the suspension of humanitarian work and evacuation of aid workers.

Two weeks ago, the Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim in South Sudan, Mathew Hollingworth strongly condemned the latest threat against the humanitarian organizations, and called for their protection, warning that a response operation to more than 100,000 vulnerable people in GPAA will be impacted.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

Activists Justoson Victor Yoasa and Guya Robert Antipas who were arrested on the 24th of August 2021 have been released without charges after spending two months in a military detention facility in Yei town of Central Equatoria State.

Justoson Victor, the Executive Director of Yamora, a national NGO, and his programs manager Guya Robert were arrested by the army’s military intelligence unit on allegations that they were coordinating and mobilizing mass public demonstrations on the 30th of August 2021 spearheaded by the People’s Coalition for Civil Action (PCCA), a body demanding President Salva Kiir Maryardit to step down.

The two were released last Tuesday after Bishop Jackson Yemba of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and Simon Latio a university student were released on Monday. The religious leader and the student were also detained for the same allegations.

A family member who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal told Radio Tamazuj that both Victor and Robert were set free after they apologized in writing to the police and the county commissioner on Tuesday.

“It is my pleasure to announce the release of two of my colleagues who were picked off on the 24th of August 2021 and it’s a pleasure to see them being set free without charges,” the source said. “Now they are not psychologically fit and they are not in good health. Victor is suffering from malaria and Robert is suffering from eyesight complications and I can see their fundamental human rights have been violated.”

The source further called for justice for the four who were detained and released without access to justice.

For his part, Yei River County commissioner Aggrey Cyrus Kanyigwa confirmed the release.

“They have resolved to accept the apology presented to my office by Justoson Victor Yoasa for being implicated in the case of mobilizing the citizens of Yei to support the PCCA demonstration which was set to be on the 30th of August 2021. We have resolved to pardon him and his police case shall be suspended unless they again get implicated in further activities of PCCA,” Cyrus said.

Several human rights activists and observers said the press freedom and freedom of association and assembly is shrinking in Yei River County as most active and dissenting voices are monitored and threatened by security agencies in the area.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

Women representatives from different communities residing in Western Equatoria State last week visited Governor Alfred Futuyo Karaba to express concerns of rampant insecurity and rising crimes in the state.

The representatives from the Zande, Balanda, Moru, Baka, Jur, Bari, Dinka, Acholi, Shilluk, and Mundu urged the state government to restore peace and stability in the state.

Speaking on behalf of the women after meeting the governor, Mrs. Yabang Emilia Moses, the Executive Director of Anika Women Association said they came together regardless of their ethnicities to represent the trauma and effects of the war on women including the loss of children, other women, and their spouses.

Emilia said they will continue to advocate for peace for all women across the country, saying there are increased reports of murders, deaths, rape in the country.

Responding to them, Governor Futuyo, pledged to support the women with transportation means to reach the 10 counties of the state preaching peace.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

The body of the Late Joseph Bol Chan, the former speaker of the South Sudan Council of States arrived in Juba on Monday morning from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

Bol, 74, passed on on Saturday while undergoing treatment.

The body was received by the Vice President for Infrastructure Cluster Taban Deng Gai and other government officials.

In a statement to the press at the Juba airport, Deng expressed his condolences to the family and said Bol’s death is a great loss to the nation.

The Late Bol has served in various government portfolios including the deputy governor of Upper Nile State, the minister of education in Upper Nile, a member of parliament in the national assembly among others.

Until his death, Late Bol served as the speaker of the Council of States since his appointment in 2012.

He has left behind his wife, several children, and grandchildren.

A close family member told Radio Tamazuj that the body of the late will be transported to his hometown of Lul in Upper Nile State tomorrow, Tuesday, for burial.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

Warrap State authorities say the main road linking Warrap to Abyei has been cut off by floods since last week making the movement of people and goods difficult.

Twic County Commissioner Deng Tong Goch told Radio Tamazuj that the road is inaccessible and there are fears that the prices of goods and services will rise if the state government does not urgently intervene.

“It is almost a week since the road was cut off at Nyindeng Ayuel and the government is informed. The vehicles bringing goods from Sudan via Abyei have stopped while trucks that need to go to Abyei also stopped in the middle. If there is nothing done in a short time, the prices of goods will shoot up,” he said.

Meanwhile, Warrap State minister for roads and bridges Victor Chol, said the ministry plans to renovate roads destroyed by the floods across the state.

“We visited the road with the governor and indeed the road was cut five times and I left engineers from my ministry there. The work will start soon and movement of commercial goods will be back to normal because this is a very important road,” he said.

Chol said many roads within the state have been destroyed and require renovations.

Source: Radio Tamazuj