The former SPLM Secretary-General Pagan Amum testified before the special court in Juba on Friday, declaring himself innocent of any crime and dismissing as a complete fabrication the story of the ‘coup d’etat’ which was produced by the government to explain his arrest.
Amum, who was arrested on 17 December said, “They put me in prison without reason, and locked me in prison for more than a month until they told me the reasons for which I was jailed.”
He further recounted that on the day of his arrest a group of the Republic Guard, the SPLA presidential protection unit, stormed his home, after which they began to argue among themselves because some of them said they were supposed to kill him.
Shortly thereafter members of the National Securitiy Service arrived on the scene. They said that they would protect him, because he fell under their responsibility.
“It dawned on me that there was a plan by the government assassinate me,” said Amum, adding that he then told his wife to call media outlets to pass the message that the government should be held responsible should anything happen to him, mentioning Al Jazeera television.
The SPLM politician considered his prolonged detention before charges were presented as a violation of his rights as a citizen.
He denied involvement in any coup attempt saying that he does not believe in seizing power by force. He stressed that he was involved in developing the constitution and other governing documents of the ruling party SPLM, and he could not imagine that the government would accuse him of attempting a coup.
He further said he considers the government’s eavesdropping on his calls a breach of privacy and a gross impropriety.