Jonglei authorities have arrested at least five women who organized a protest where they accused the state’s Caretaker Governor John Kong Nyuon of supporting rebels.
Greater Bor Women’s Union Secretary General Dorkas Ayen told Radio Tamazuj from inside police custody: “Those who jailed us, they are the one who will tell us why they jailed us,” she said. “Was it because of strikes? Yes, we make a strike…We have not killed anybody and we have also not destroyed anything. We went peacefully and then we submitted our concern paper to the deputy governor.”
Ayen accused Kong, who is Nuer, of making salaries payments to areas in Jonglei populated by Nuer while withholding funds from Dinka living in neighboring Lakes State.
“We don’t want the governor because the Caretaker Governor John Kong is the governor for one side and he is not the governor for everybody in Jonglei state, and that’s why we don’t want him,” she said.
No charges have been announced against the women.
Jonglei State Minister of Information and Communications Jody Jonglei told Radio Tamazuj that he had no information about the arrests because security matters “are sensitive” and are not always communicated to his office.
However, he confirmed that around 35 women demonstrated on Thursday against the Caretaker Governor, while rejecting the women’s accusations that Kong has links to rebels.
“If they called John Kong a rebel because he is Nuer then it was wrong,” he said. “Who among them doesn’t know John Kong? Did he one time defect to rebels since the beginning of SPLM/SPLA?”
Jody further denied that state funds were given to rebels, pointing out that he was in charge of the education committee and allocated no money to rebel areas.
Kong was appointed caretaker governor by SPLM-Juba leader Salva Kiir in 2013, though his constitutionally-proscribed term has since expired.