A legislator in the Lakes State parliament and a civil society activist have confirmed that six teachers in detention at the Panda military barracks in Rumbek since mid-June were transferred to Rumbek Central prison on Monday without due court process.
Over 30 teachers from various secondary and primary Schools in Rumbek were arrested in June for rejecting their January and February salary arrears that did not reflect the 100 percent increment in their salaries.
Last month, more than 30 teachers were released on the orders of Governor Rin Tueny Mabor, but six of them remained in detention.
The chairperson of the state parliamentary committee on education Athiei Paul Canyok, told Radio Tamazuj Wednesday that the six teachers were transferred from the military facility to the prison without court trials.
“The six teachers have been taken to Rumbek Central Prison now. I do not know why they were transferred to the prison instead of being released,” she wondered. “This is still unlawful action and procedure, but I will still find out what kind of charges took them to the main prison. They have not been taken to the High or County Courts.”
“Their relatives tell me that illegal courts were used and not the High Court or County Court, and I will first find out from the prison which court sentenced them,” she added.
Athiei described the health condition of the detained teachers as worrying.
“The condition of those detained six teachers was worse when I met them in the military prison. They had no food, and they were sick,” she described. “They had rashes on their bodies, and all had lost weight. Their families are suffering and have no food.”
She said the state education minister refused to comply with the parliamentary summons.
“The (education) minister refused to come to parliament, and I am about to give up because the issue is beyond my capacity, and our speaker is not talking to the governor about this issue of the teachers detained in prison,” Athiei lamented. “I am the chairperson of the specialized committee on education in the state assembly, and I am being threatened with arrest if I do not stop talking about it.”
Daniel Kuok, a lawyer, said no law in South Sudan permits a person to be detained beyond 24 hours without being taken to court and that no law allows the detention of a civilian in a military facility.
“It is unlawful to detain a person beyond 24 hours. Detention based on a legal contract is related to crime, and that crime has to be investigated first by the police, followed by the arrest warrant,” he explained. “You do not detain a person anyhow without issuing an arrest warrant. The law says no person shall be detained more than 24 hours, particularly in the case of the teachers in Rumbek.”
“They should not have been detained for more than 24 hours, and this is illegal,” he added.
A Rumbek-based civil society activist, Daniel Laat Kon, also confirmed the transfer of the detained teachers from the military barracks to Rumbek Central Prison.
“Everything from the beginning was unlawful. The state authorities took no right procedure and were detained without trial,” he said. “We are still making a follow-up and looking for defence lawyers ready to offer legal aid for the detained teachers.”
The police spokesperson in Lakes State Major, Elijah Mabor Makuac, declined to comment on the matter and referred our reporter to the state education minister.