It is almost one year since the disappearance of South Sudanese human rights activist Biar Ajak Marol.
The 26-year-old Executive Director of Junubin Chronicles vanished under unclear circumstances in Juba on October 4, 2023.
It was an emotional day visiting Aguer Deng, the mother of Marol. I met her at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. She is the widow of Ajak Marol, Biar Ajak Marol’s father. The mother and Marol’s siblings were in tears as they narrated his disappearance, on a hot and busy day of food distribution.
Since the disappearance of the talented young man, no explanation has been forthcoming from the South Sudan top leadership.
My conversation with the mother and the siblings moved me too to tears. I also found myself in tears whenever I mentioned Moral’s name.
As the Executive Director of Junubin Chronicles, Marol advocated the rights of the South Sudanese youth by creating music to support them after completing secondary education in Kenya.
His car was found abandoned near the Freedom Bridge on the River Nile. Since then, friends and family have been pressing for answers from the National Security Services, the Military Intelligence, and the CID. They continue to urge the Government of South Sudan to provide a full report on his situation or any information regarding what happened to him.
I call on the government of South Sudan to revive the investigation into Marol’s disappearance to calm the emotions of the family, friends, and the wider South Sudanese community.
All manner of rumors about his fate have circulated since he went missing.
Some believe that his disappearance was an inside job, others hold that it was politically motivated. His mother, always with tears in her eyes, pleads for anyone with information to come forward. Many South Sudanese, the intellectuals, the orphans and the widows alike, have been left wondering what happened to Marol.
I appeal to the government and security agencies to provide hope that the mystery of Marol’s disappearance will be addressed.
Emmanuel Malual Makuach is a South Sudanese journalist and researcher focusing on the impact of social media triggers in the conflicts of 2013 and 2016 in South Sudan. Contact him at malualmakuach77@gmail.com
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