A civil society activist in Lakes State has appealed to authorities to move two employees of the Kenya Commercial Bank’s (KCB) Rumbek Branch who are being held at the SSPDF’s Panda Military Barracks in Rumbek for allegedly pilfering money to police custody for proper investigation and prosecution.
The duo, Michael Manyang Mourrwel, the bank’s branch manager, and John Mabor Agany, the operations manager, were detained on allegations of misappropriating USD 163,000 from their employer.
Daniel Laat Kon, the coordinator of the Community Empowerment Progress Organization (CEPO) in Lakes State, told Radio Tamazuj Tuesday that the KCB staff are still being held by the army and have not been taken to the police for investigation nor arraigned in court.
“We have been engaged with the lawyer to make sure that they are taken to the police for investigation. Their defense lawyer, Malith Jokthiang Wundit of Humanity Law Chambers and Advocates based in Rumbek, is still struggling to ensure that they are taken to court for a fair hearing and trial,” he said. “As I told you last time, it is difficult to access the SSPDF Panda Military Barrack detention facility. We are not able to meet the detained KCB staff and talk to them.”
“We are now following their case through the lawyer and this is how we get updated information about what the next step is,” Laat added.
He said the army which is holding the KCB staff cannot resolve the issue and urged that they be taken to court if there is a case for them to answer.
“They have to be taken to court and if they are found guilty, then they will be see how to refund the money that they are accused of taking. Detaining people without investigation and trial is also a violation of our existing laws. You cannot hold someone for 2-3 weeks in a detention facility with poor conditions without investigation and trial,” the activist charged. “When you detain a person in such a facility, their health is at risk and our call is that these people need to be taken to court or unconditionally released. These are the only two options.”
According to Laat, KCB has not revealed the exact amount of money that the duo allegedly stole and he urged that they be tried so that the truth is established.
For the last two days, attempts to reach Lakes State Information Minister Paul Chabiet Anyang for comment on why the KCB staff are still detained by the army were futile. Earlier, he promised the media that the suspects would be transferred to the police for investigation.
Meanwhile, the police spokesperson in Lakes State, Maj. Elijah Mabor Makuac, declined, citing that the case was not yet with the police.