The high court in Northern Bahr el Ghazal last week held a hearing in a defamation case brought by the state Governor against a local activist.
Governor Tong Akeen Ngor pressed defamation charges against activist Samuel Garang Dut after the latter posted a picture of a building located in the Hai Referendum residential area in Juba purportedly belonging to the state governor.
Dut was subsequently arrested by the police in Aweil on 9 April but released on bail a few days later pending court proceedings.
In the social media post, the activist criticized the governor for constructing and upgrading his private building using public funds while citizens went without services, a move authorities termed as defamation.
The governor’s lawyer, William Kuol Maduok, said the charge is a clear case of defamation because the governor constructed the house in 2013 before he was appointed to lead the state.
“I think our case is clear and it is documented because if you circulate something not related to somebody or against somebody’s dignity that is a crime by itself and there is no doubt about it,” Maduok said. “The accused posted a picture of the governor’s house on Facebook and he wrote that the governor upgraded the building with public funds while citizens are facing dire living conditions. And if you can see the building according to the governor or his aide, the building was constructed in 2013 and doesn’t has relation with the current time.’’
Activist Samuel Garang Dut told Radio Tamazuj soon after the court session that he is not against the governor’s personality but his leadership approach.
“I am not attacking the personality of Tong Akeen Ngor, but the governor of Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal State. And the same right each and everyone has in Northern Bahr-el- Ghazal State to question how the state affairs are being handled, is the same right I also have and this is a constitutional right of everyone,” Dut said.
Madut Santino Deng, a lawyer representing the accused said their position was clear and it is the right of everybody to express views about any public figure.
"For me, I think the governor is a public figure and people must express their views on a public figure because if anything goes wrong, anyone can comment on it,” Madut said.
The high court adjourned the case to June 3, 2021, and all witnesses are expected to appear with their evidence.