The former Northern Bahr el Ghazal State caretaker governor, Kuel Aguer Kuel, who was part of the People’s Coalition for Civil Action (PCCA), a coalition of activists calling for political change in South Sudan, is sick at the Juba Main Prison, his daughter said.
Kuel Aguer was arrested in July 2021 after signing the declaration by the People’s Coalition for Civil Action (PCCA) calling for a change in government in South Sudan by way of a popular uprising.
Adhel Kuel Aguer told Radio Tamazuj Tuesday that her father is suffering from nerve complications in the back and leg and needs urgent medical attention. She said her father was advised by doctors in Jordan and later Nairobi to undergo surgery but was arrested before he could do so.
“Yes, my father is still at Juba Main Prison and he complains of illness in the leg and in the back because some wounds appeared there and we do not know what it is but we have already sent X-rays from Khartoum to Jordan and the doctor said my father might have nerve complications and that he needs an operation,” Adhel said. “My father also went to Nairobi and was told the same thing and upon his arrival from Nairobi to Juba, he was immediately detained.”
She said the family is trying their best to take her incarcerated father’s medical forms from Jordan to presidential affairs minister Dr. Marial Benjamin who would, in turn, inform President Salva Kiir.
“We are trying our level best to take the medical statement that came from Jordan to Marial Benjamin who will inform the president about his (Aguer’s) current health condition because there is nobody to support us to make that happen,” Adhel said.
“I am appealing to the president to pardon my father to go for further medication and continue his case later on and we are here to assure the authorities that our father is not going to abandon us if he is given permission to seek medical treatment,” she added.
Edmund Yakani, the executive director of the Community Empowerment and Progress Organization (CEPO), said South Sudanese have constitutional rights to express themselves, blaming the authorities for targeting none combatant politicians when they express their views.
“First of all, the arrest of dignitaries due to their own viewpoints is wrong. It is a must for the authorities to respect any South Sudanese who expresses (views),” Yakani charged. “For example, there is an ongoing debate among president Kiir, Kuol Manyang, and Daniel Awet whether the president resigns or continues with the leadership, but none of them have been arrested because they have interests and powers that law is afraid of but the weak dignitaries without military-political backgrounds are always arrested if they express their views.”
He condemned the jailing of political prisoners for a long period of time without trial.
“In the case of former Northern Bahr el Ghazal Governor Kuel Aguer, he is a prominent politician and he was confined after he was accused of signing PCCA declaration but he is supposed to express himself and if he messed up against South Sudan laws, then legal masseurs should apply,” Yakani said.He advised authorities to allow people to express themselves freely to avoid civil disobedience and rebellion against the government.