The newly appointed governor of South Sudan’s Wau State, Elias Waya Nyipuoc, has lashed out has at his predecessor’s administration for failing to prosecute police officers suspected of killing eight protesters in Wau town in 2012.
In December 2012, police shot at least eight people dead during protests agianst a local decision to transfer the county headquarters to Baggari, about 12 miles southwest of Wau in what was then Western Bahr el Ghazal state.
“There was a shortcoming from the state administration, it was supposed to carry out investigations, there was nothing wrong done by the SPLM party,” said Elias in an interview with Radio Tamazuj.
However, the appointed governor said he doesn’t want to reopen investigations into the Wau incident. “What had happened will be discussed within the party, our people are patient, and they can forgive,” he said.
Separately, Elias denied that six political prisoners from Wau held by National Security Services have been tortured.
“The political prisoners were not tortured,” he said. “These are rumours, there are people who circulate rumours against their brothers, they are there, I have just come from the National Ministry of Security.”
“I can say these people will be release on bail, but it a process, when they are released, I will go together with them to Wau,” Elias said.
File photo: mourners stand by the body of a person killed during Wau protests in 2012