Day: March 22, 2022

Man dies after falling off moving truck along Torit-Juba road

The police in Eastern Equatoria State have confirmed that a 22-year-old man identified as Innocent Obale Onyango died after falling off a moving tipper truck in Kor Lahbata along the Torit-Juba road on Sunday.

According to the police, the truck with registration SSD 184N was heavily loaded with goods and more than 50 passengers traveling from Magwi to Juba via Torit.

Lieutenant Adam Satiro, the director of crime in the Eastern Equatoria State traffic police department told Radio Tamazuj Monday that the deceased fell off the truck and his head was crushed by the same truck.

“At 3:44 pm (Sunday), there was a vehicle moving from Magwi loaded with goods and passengers. It had earlier delivered a dead body to Magwi from Juba and it was taking mourners back to Juba,” Lt. Satiro explained. “After reaching Khor Lahbata, one of the passengers fell off towards the front of the truck and it moved over his head.”

He added: “The name of the deceased is Innocent Obale, 22, Acholi by tribe, and the driver is called James Oyo Charles, 44, from Acholi also.”

For his part, Colonel Mathew Ochan, the police spokesperson in Torit Central Division, confirmed the incident and said the driver has been detained by awaiting trial while the body of the deceased has been taken for burial in his home village of Parajok in Magwi County.

“One passenger fell off the truck and the vehicle smashed his head. The road was good and the passenger just fell alone. The driver is in police custody here in Torit and the truck has been detained and investigation is ongoing,” Col. Ochan said. “The relatives of the late took the body for burial.”

He said the traffic police will investigate the cause of the incident and thereafter forward the file to the court.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

ZCZC

The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tuesday denied the presence of the Russian private security contractor group, Wagner, in the country and its involvement in illegal activities.

The denial comes in response to a statement by the Troika diplomats in Khartoum condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on Monday.

The Wagner Group “spreads disinformation on social media and engages in illicit activities connected to gold mining,” said the Troika countries.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said that the Troika diplomats deliberately and in an arbitrary manner involved Sudan in the conflict in Ukraine.

The ministry described the statement as “a blatant interference in Sudan’s internal affairs and an apparent violation of the established diplomatic norms and practices”.

The statement also condemned the Troika’s allegations about the presence of the Russian private security company Wagner in Sudan to carry out military training, mining and other illegal activities.

“This is what the Government of Sudan would like totally to deny.”

Several investigation reports in and outside Sudan highlighted the presence of Wager in the country and their cooperation with the security services.

Source: Sudan Tribune

The Russian private group Wagner is engaged in illegal gold mining in Sudan and anti-democratic propaganda, said the Troika diplomats based in Khartoum on Monday.

In a joint statement released to mark the first month of the Russian attack on Ukraine, British Ambassador Giles Leifer, Norwegian Ambassador Therese Loken Gheziel and U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Lucy Tamlyn openly attacked the Russian contractor that cooperates closely with the Rapid Support Service in Sudan (RSF).

“In Sudan, the Wagner Group (…) spreads disinformation on social media and engages in illicit activities connected to gold mining,” read the statement.

“Wagner Group activities undermine the good governance and respect for rule of law that the Sudanese people have been fighting for since the revolution,” further stressed the Western diplomats without referring to their reported cooperation with the RSF.

Wagner, which generally overlaps with Russian foreign policy aims, has established political, military, and economic activities in Sudan since the former regime of Omer al-Bashir.

At the time, the mercenary group was engaged in military training for the special intervention units of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) and the RSF which was part of the security agency.

After the Sudanese revolution, they are mainly working with the RSF paramilitary force under the command of the Deputy Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council.

Source: Sudan Tribune

Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) has urged lawmakers in Lakes State to summon the state revenue authority and state finance ministry to explain the domestic taxes collection and utilization.

In a statement issued on March 19, 2022, the civil society entity “called upon the Commissioner of Local Revenues Authority in Lakes state to make public reports on domestic revenues collected with the spirit of transparency and accountability”.

“Since the establishment of the state-local revenue authority’s administration in Lakes state, the departments’ tasks for collection remain zero cash in their offices to support and facilitate their operations as the running cost,” the statement read in part.

CEPO’s Lakes State coordinator, Daniel Laat Kon said the state government needed to declare in its public reports all the revenue that were collected since the establishment of the revenue authority several months ago.

“This will reduce malpractices and dependency on oil revenues bolster non-oil revenues sector and strengthen expenditure control in the state government institutions,” he said.

South Sudan was ranked as the most corrupt amongst the 180 countries in the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International (TI).

In January, the Troika member states called for expedition in the implementation of public financial management reforms in South Sudan, saying strengthening of such reforms demonstrate government’s commitment to reform process and enhance trust with global partners.

South Sudan made significant progress on public financial management reforms, including prudent monetary policy, successful foreign exchange reform and steps towards sounder public cash management.

Meanwhile, CEPO urged the IMF to ensure that the United Nations Convention against Corruption is implemented and its outcomes reviewed.

Revenues from oil constitute over 98 percent South Sudan’s annual budget.

Source: Sudan Tribune