Concerns are mounting over the detention of Col. Pasquale Chol Mading, a senior officer in the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) Military Intelligence.
Mading was taken into custody by his colleagues at the Juba International Airport while performing his duties last month.
In mid-February, reports circulated on social media that Mading, responsible for security at the Juba International Airport, was arrested on the orders of the Chief of Military Intelligence, Gen Stephen Marshal. The arrest reportedly followed Col. Mading’s interception of smuggled ammunition and weaponry intended for Gen. Marshal’s home area in the Greater Pibor. A month later, the whereabouts of Col Mading, remain unknown.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Thursday, Mading’s wife Jaqlin Nyoka Joseph expressed her concern for her husband’s well-being and demanded either his release or formal charges.
“My husband was arrested on February 12, and I only learned of it three days later because his phone was switched off,” she recounted.
“He informed me that he was arrested while on duty at the airport,” She added.
“I was in Kampala, Uganda, taking care of my children’s schooling when it happened. His phone suddenly went off for three days. It was only after three days that I got in touch with him through someone else. Initially, he was reluctant to share what was happening but eventually admitted he was under arrest,” she went on.
“My husband was responsible for security at the airport. He apprehended seven individuals attempting to smuggle guns and ammunition to Pibor. He captured the evidence on camera and reported it to his superiors. However, while those my husband had arrested were released, my husband remains in custody,” explained the distraught wife.
Jaqlin described her husband’s detention as arbitrary.
“He has been held for over a month and a half. If it is wrong to prevent the smuggling of weapons, he should either be formally charged or released.”
She lamented her current situation: “We were evicted from our home in Kampala. Since February 17, I have been in Juba with our children, and life has been very difficult. I have not been able to visit my husband for a month.”
SSPDF Spokesperson Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Executive Director of INTREPID South Sudan (ISS), Bol Deng Bol, called for the immediate release of Mading,, asserting that his arrest was unjust.
“I urge the government to either release Pasquale Mading or grant his family access to him. His detention is a violation of the law, and he was simply doing his work,” Bol said.