Two more Juba hotels have joined 31 hotels that filed a joint suit in the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) at Arusha, Tanzania, against the National Transitional Committee (NTC) which was previously chaired by Tut Gatluak Manime, the immediate former presidential advisor on security, over accumulated unpaid accommodation and feeding bills.
Late last month, Senior Counsel Wani Santino Jada of M/S Pan African Law Chambers LLP in Juba who is the lead lawyer for the hotels, told Radio Tamazuj that his clients are collectively owed just over US$ 61 million. He said the respondent is the Attorney General of South Sudan who is sued in his official capacity as the Principal Legal Advisor of the government under Article 135 (2), (3), (5b) of the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan 2011 as amended.
The advocate told this publication on Thursday that two more Juba hotels have now joined the case in the East African Court of Justice, bringing the number of hotels that petitioned the court to 33.
“One of the new hotels joining the case is demanding NTC USD 1.3 million and the other one is demanding over USD 6 million. With the current economic crisis, most of the hotels are struggling to pay staff and some have closed down,” Wani said. “For example, the first petitioner, World Focus International Hotel, has closed down due to the huge amount the government owed them. World Focus International Hotel is demanding over USD 9 million from the NTC and over USD 7 million from the South Sudan National Security Service (NSS). The legal team of the NSS is not cooperating, but they have been sued jointly. The Court will compel them to pay the hotel owners.”
“It is the first time in the history of the court for a government to be sued over accommodation and food that they have failed to pay for,” the advocate added.
He said the Government of South Sudan is left with 30 days to file their defense in the regional court.