A senior lawyer in Juba on Friday said he has started the process of taking legal action against the National Security Service (NSS) for forcefully occupying one of his villas in the Jebel suburb of Juba City.
Senior Advocate Kiir Chol Deng contends that the NSS wants to harass him by demanding free accommodation because he has and continues to defend many clients against the security outfit.
“You may be aware that I have been handling some cases where some clients were being prosecuted by the state, particularly the National Security, and as a result of that, on 27 May 2024 some security personnel stormed my property and closed it,” he explained. “I was asked to go the National Security Headquarters and when I went there, I was told that they need free accommodation in one of my villas and I opposed it.”
According to Chol, efforts to resolve the matter amicably with the NSS were futile, leaving him with no option but to resort to court.
“I was advised to see their chief, there is a General there at the National Security, when I went there and the chief also insisted I give them a free room, I decided to go to court. Before that, I opted to seek the intervention of the Director General of the National Security’s Internal Security Bureau (ISB), that is General Akol Koor, but he declined. So, I remained with no other option but to file a suit against the National Security,” stated. “To file a suit against the government, you must obtain a leave to sue from the Ministry of Justice and that is what I did yesterday (Thursday), I filed an application seeking permission to sue the National Security on the policy that they are relying on.”
The advocate said the National Security has been occupying rooms in hotels and apartments for free and he wants the policy to be quashed.
“When I went to the National Security, they told me that there is a policy that one of their agents must be accommodated in a hotel or an apartment. So, my argument is where is the law that obliges citizens to offer free accommodations to National Security officers? They said there is no law but that it is a policy,” he narrated and added: “My intention of going to court is to declare that policy null and void or illegal because there is no law or legal provision that provides for it. I see it as an abuse of power because how do you trespass on an individual’s property and enter by force without his permission and with somebody that you have a case with in court.”
“So, this is an abuse of power and we intend to seek the intervention of the court,” Chol declared.