The Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SSPLA-IO) spokesperson in Western Bahr el Ghazal State, Col. Uku Manwee, has said that they handed over two suspects accused of killing two SSPDF soldiers in April to state authorities in Wau on Monday.
One of the suspects was only identified as Simundu while the other was not named.
The soldiers who disappeared in Baggari Forest on 3 April where they are said to have gone to hunt were identified as SSPDF Colonel Rofino Liga and his subordinate only identified as Joseph. Their motorbikes were found in the forest but their whereabouts remain unknown to date. Their bodies have also not been recovered.
Manwee told Radio Tamazuj Monday that the SPLA-IO unit in the area went searching for the SSPDF soldiers but stumbled upon the two suspects whom they arrested in the forest.
“There was an SSPDF colonel who came to Baggari to hunt and he disappeared in our area. We arrested some people whom we suspected had a hand in their disappearance and we handed them over to the government on Monday. We arrested a man called Simundi and another one. These people (Col. Liga and Joseph) disappeared on 3 April 2023 when they came from Wau to the Baggari forest to hunt,” he explained. “They were arrested in the forest and they disappeared. Their motorbikes were found. When we followed the case, we found two men who were with them and arrested but when we conducted investigations, there was no clear or conclusive information. This is why we handed them to the government.”
“Liga was a colonel in the SSPDF and we thought that if we maintain this investigation, it may bring for us problems and this is why we took the suspects to the government so the legal procedures are followed,” Manwee added.
He said the two suspects have been in the custody of the SPLA-IO who failed to extract the truth from them since April.
When contacted, the Western Bahr el Ghazal State acting police commissioner, Major General James Simon Yasi, confirmed that the state authorities received the two suspects from the SPLA-IO. However, the names of the suspects given by the police chief, differ from those given by the SPLA-IO.
According to Gen. Yasi, Col. Liga was given leave in March to go for a hernia operation but they were surprised when they received information that the officer had disappeared.
“Our colonel Rofino Liga took leave in March to go for a hernia operation but before his leave ended, we were surprised to receive information that he disappeared. As police at the state headquarters, we formed an administrative investigation committee to find out where he had gone,” he said. “A civil case of disappearance was also opened. We later got information that he was killed in the area of Baggari and also some suspects were arrested by SPLA-IO. During one of our regular joint meetings with the opposition forces in the state, we asked them to bring the suspects to Wau and they were brought a few days ago. We received the two suspects brought to us by opposition forces, the first suspect is called Rimon Louis Lokili and the second suspect is Johnson Maringo.”
“They confessed and they have now been transferred to the Wau Central Prison on remand and they will be taken to court,” Gen. Yasi added.
He said the handover of the suspects is the outcome of the cooperation of the state security apparatus with the opposition forces in containing criminality in the state.