The spokesperson of the South Sudan Prison Service has said they are simply following judicial orders by holding Ayii Duang Ayi who is the proprietor of South Supreme Airlines.
Maj. Gen. Redento Tongun confirmed to Radio Tamazuj Monday that Duang is indeed in their charge and that the prison service is executing a judicial sentence.
“We are here to execute the judicial sentence, judicial decrees, and orders which come from competent courts having the logo of the court, the stamp, and the signature of the judge,” he said. “If Ayii (Duang) has committed a crime, according to what I see, then he must be in prison.”
Duang is imprisoned at the Juba Central Prison for defaulting payment of compensation to the victims of the Pieri plane crash as ordered by the High Court in August.
The proprietor of the airline which owned the ill-fated plane was arrested by court police last Thursday on the orders of a judge.
In early August, Kator High Court Judge Nikola Makuach Bol dismissed an appeal by South Supreme Airlines to have the decision of the Malakia County Court ordering it to compensate the families of the 2021 tragic Pieri plane crash voided. The High Court judge ordered the airline company to pay USD 100, 000 to the families of the eight victims who perished in the crash.
However, since August’s ruling, South Supreme Airlines reportedly failed to make payments and is now in default, prompting the Malakia Court to issue an arrest warrant for Duang.
“You (The court police) are hereby directed to arrest the judgment debtor and to escort him immediately before me together with this arrest warrant unless he pays you an amount of USD 800, 000,” the order issued by James Lado, the Malakia Court judge read in part.
The police spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Daniel Justin said the court police arrested Ayii last Thursday on orders of the court and that they will act again to have him released when ordered to do so by the court.
Reacting to the news, Makuei Puok Bai, a representative of the victims’ families, said they welcomed the court’s decision to have Duang incarcerated.
“I just returned from the court and saw Ayii Duang Ayii arrested and imprisoned at the Juba Central Prison. As the families (of the victims), we are happy with the decision because the court ordered that he remains behind bars until the payment of USD 800, is made,” he said.
Efforts to reach South Supreme Airlines for comment were futile.
On 2 March 2021, a South Supreme Airline Let aircraft with registration HK-4274 crashed just moments after takeoff from the Pieri airstrip in Jonglei State killing all 10 people onboard including 2 crew members.
Since then, the airline company and the families have been engaged in a legal battle over compensation.