South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir will examine the controversial National Security Act 2014 (Amendment) Bill 2024, before making a decision on it, a government official said.
In a WhatsApp statement to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, Lily Adhieu Martin, the president’s press secretary, said President Kiir intends to meet with the Minister for Justice and legal advisors to conduct a thorough examination of the National Security Bill presented to him last Friday.
Also presented were the Road Finance Agreement with Ethiopia Bill, the Treaty on Trade with China ratification, and the Agreement on the Nile Basin Cooperative Framework.
“The President will meet with the Minister of Justice and his legal team to further scrutinize the Bills before signing them into law,” Adhieu said.
The National Security Amendment Act – 2024 has sparked controversy, particularly concerning sections 54 and 55, which grant the National Security Service (NSS) powers of arrest without a warrant.
Last year, President Kiir and First Vice-President Riek Machar agreed to remove the controversial sections from the act, deeming them unconstitutional. However, lawmakers surprisingly retained these sections and approved the Bill on July 3.
Observers, human rights groups and foreign diplomats, including Western embassies in Juba, have expressed concerns over what they perceive as the NSS’s overreaching powers, urging President Kiir to return the Bill to parliament for a substantial review.
Amnesty International said President Kiir should ensure that the Bill conforms to the Constitution and international human rights standards by only granting NSS intelligence the roles of information gathering, analysis and advice.
On Monday, parties to the Tumaini Initiative in Kenya agreed to expedite the repeal of the recently passed National Security Bill, which gives the security agency the right to arrest suspected criminals without a warrant.