South Sudan’s National Security Service on Saturday stormed the house of Mr. Kalisto Ladu, the former mayor of Juba City Council, who turned into a government critic after speaking out against the injustices, syndicated land grabbing, and forceful displacement of indigenous people from their ancestral land particularly, in Juba County.
Some footages circulating on social media show Kalisto Ladu questioning why some individuals part of President Kiir’s regime deliberately chose to abuse their positions in the government by applying impunity, causing fear and terror among villagers, especially in the Northern Baria villages.
Kalisto Ladu—the son of Mangala Payam, previously also spoke out against the actions of some elements of the SSPDF [South Sudan People’s Defence Forces] who he said were terrorizing the farming communities in Gondokoro Island, Mangala, and other areas that are being forcefully occupied by soldiers and their kinsmen.
Also, during the massive search conducted by the army and organized forces, the soldiers stormed Gondokoro Island, intimidated, assaulted, and arrested some villagers under the pretext of illegal arms search.
On Saturday fateful midnight, Joana Andrea—the spouse of Kalisto, told the media on Sunday morning that her husband was arrested and picked up from his home by armed men in uniform and others in plain clothes.
“Kalisto tried to talk to them to understand the issue when they came to our home at night, but they refused to talk and started beating Kalisto, and then they forced him into a Toyota Landcruiser vehicle full of soldiers. They came with a Toyota Landcruiser Pickup and a Noah vehicle with tinted windows, but the two vehicles were numberless,” Joana narrated to Radio Tamazuj.
Police Spokesperson Major General Daniel Justin Baolo confirmed the arrest but declined to provide more details.
On his part, the Deputy Chairperson of the main opposition group SPLM-IO [Sudan People’s Liberation Movement In-Opposition], who doubles as the first deputy speaker of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly, Oyet Nathaniel Pierino disclosed that the national security service continues to apply Sections 54 and 55 of the National Security Services Act, 2014, which gives excessive powers to the security agency to arrest the government’s critics including journalists and activists without arrest warrant.
In March last year, President Kiir and his first vice-president, Dr Riek Machar Teny, agreed in principle to amend the National Security Act 2024, especially Sections 54 and 55 which embolden the security agency to arrest suspects without acquiring a warrant of arrest from the public attorney.
Ever since the decision was reached verbally by the two leaders, so far, no action has been taken to remove these repressive sections from the National Security Service Act 2014.
Oyet Nathaniel calls upon the people who arrested the former Lord Mayor [Kalisto] to respect the due process of law and produce him to the police and court of law within 24 hours, citing that failure to do so, shall be tantamount to violation of human rights.
“Let it also be known to whoever is holding Kalisto that violations of local laws are not a privilege and are contestable in regional and international Courts should the local remedies prove compromised,” Nathaniel warned.
Nathaniel disclosed that he also received a report of the gruesome torture of an engineer by the elements of security organs.
According to Nathaniel, the engineer was arrested, tortured, and driven to different detention facilities around Juba.
“All these are happening in violation of the fundamental human rights of persons and their civil liberties,” he argued.
A week ago, President Kiir decreed out the Commissioner of Juba County Charles Joseph, and named his replacement immediately. The sudden change came after the ex-commissioner Charles Joseph demolished illegal structures constructed on the community land in Northern Baria.
Over 20 soldiers part of the land-grabbing cartel were arrested but later freed after some top government officials interfered and sided with suspected land grabbers.
Senior government officials are believed to be fueling, harboring suspects, and instigating land-grabbing activities in the northern part of the national capital, Juba.
Commissioner Charles Joseph was allegedly sacked for cracking down on the armed land grabbers in the vicinity of Juba city.
