Human rights organization Amnesty International is calling for the release of ousted governor of Wau State Elias Way Nyipuoc who has remained in detention in South Sudan’s capital Juba without charge or trial.

The rights group says that Elias Waya Nyipuoc should either be charged and presented before a competent judicial authority or immediately released.

Elias Waya Nyipuoch, former governor of Wau state, was summoned to Juba by President Salva Kiir on 23 June and was relieved of his position as governor the following day.

According to Amnesty, South Sudanese Military Police entered his residence in the Rock City neighbourhood of Juba on 26 June at 10 am with a letter signed by the Chief of General Staff, Lt. General Paul Malong, ordering his arrest.

The human rights group revealed that military police arrested Elias Waya Nyipuoch and detained him in a cell at Giyada military barracks in Juba, where he remains in detention. The organization called on the government to ensure Elias Waya Nyipuoch has access to a lawyer.

On 28 September, Sarah Elias Waya, who is Waya’s daughter, told Radio Tamazuj that her father spent more than four months in detention without any investigation or charge.

Sarah said that Elias Waya’s health condition was deteriorating, saying her father was suffering from high blood pressure and other health problems.

File photo: Elias Waya