David Garang Goc, the chairperson for the coalition group Jonglei Civil Society Network, is currently being held under police custody in the Jonglei State capital, Bor town, his colleagues and police have confirmed.
The civil society activist was detained on Thursday morning.
“Our chairperson has been arrested over the statement he gave about the food donated by the president but was being sold at the market. On Wednesday after he gave the statement, he was summoned by the National Security Service (NSS) for an investigation and released," Ngang Philip, the network’s finance secretary told Radio Tamazuj.
"Again, this morning (Thursday) at 11 am, he was summoned. This evening after we realized that he never came back, we went searching for him only to find out that he has been transferred to the police station,” he added.
Philip said they are not sure of Garang's condition as they have been denied access by the police.
“We just returned from the police station where he is being detained. They confirmed that David Garang is with them but they did not allow us to check him,” he said.
He called for his colleague's release saying he was only exercising his rights.
Jonglei state police commissioner Joseph Mayen Akoon confirmed that the activist is under their custody for investigations.
“There was food donated by the president and it was being distributed over the past few days. Whether the food is being sold at the market or not, I know nothing about that. I was informed that this activist called Garang Goc released a statement to the media. So, he is with us for investigations. And if it is proven that he gave a wrong statement, measures will be taken against him,” he said.