Community leadership in South Sudan’s proposed Wau state have launched an appeal seeking the release of the ousted governor, Elias Waya Nyipuoc and his deputy, Andrea Dominic, citing their health conditions and missing physical contacts with their family members since detention.
Elia Kamilo, one of the community leaders in Juba from Wau state, said in an interview on Saturday that they have unsuccessfully approached authorities behind the arrest of the two leaders to discuss the matter behind the actions and what could be the way forward in resolving the matter.
“Silence does not convey any message and we cannot guess the intention behind this silence. As community leaders, we have tried to reach the president so that we can hear from him the cause of the action but we have had difficulties getting. We are often asked to leave the message we want to deliver to him but when we do it, we do not get any feedback.”
“We don’t know whether he (president Kiir) gets our message. We are not sure. Maybe he gets, perhaps not,” explained Kamilo.
The detained leaders, according to Kamilo, have health issues which require constant attention by specialists but which cannot be assured at the moment because they may be a place without specialized personnel and facilities.
“We actually don’t know where they are kept. Nobody has ever told us where they are being kept. What we know is that they are in detention. We also know that the health condition of General Elias Waya in particular was under supervision of specialized doctors. We have also been told of the same issue with General Andrea Dominic by members of his family.”
“His sugar level in the blood, which is the same issue with General Elias, require constant check and monitoring,” he said.
The two leaders were differently apprehended at different times this year on issues connected to security whose details remain speculative.
Security sources have claimed in a series of interviews that the arrest of the former deputy governor, Andrea Dominic, was connected to security matters.
Some claimed he was found talking to armed dissident youths. Others claimed he was planning to join the armed opposition in the event armed dissident youths succeeded in taking control of the town in February 2016.
File photo: Elias Waya