Aweil East youths who were detained for protesting against Manut Yel Lual, who calls himself the executive director of Warawar market, have been freed after security officials in Aweil reportedly found they are not guilty.
At least 10 youths were arrested allegedly on orders from the former state governor and current SPLA Chief of Staff Paul Malong after they had called for a meeting with the tax official.
Manut Yel Lual calls himself the tax director for Warawar — an important market for cross-border trade — as well as for Majok and other border areas. But some youths of the area have been accusing him of not being part of the taxation authority nor the state finance ministry.
One of the Warawar youths said that Manut was appointed by then-Governor Paul Malong Awan in 2008: “Manut Yel Lual is an eye to Malong Awan and whom Malong put as Tax Director of Warawar.”
These youths from Warawar organized a meeting to question Manut to prove that he is legally collecting the money. He never showed up to the meeting but instead reported to the military base in the area that the youths are planning to join the rebels as they are supporters of Kuel Aguer, the ousted caretaker governor.
According to one of the former detainees, the main agendas for the meeting with Manut Yel were the following charges against him: (1) Tax collected in Warawar is not reaching the county authority nor the state revenue authority; (2) Manut arms his clansmen with heavy guns even though they are not soldiers; (3) Manut employs his own relatives in carrying out official duties.
One of the freed men said that Manut uses “unauthorized documents from the ministry of finance. He just uses white paper to collect money with it. If the state revenue authority or county department of finance sends officials, Manut deters them and sends them back because he gets power from Malong Awan. Manut can even arrest people and release them as he wishes.”
“We were taken to Wunyiik SPLA barracks but [Division Commander] Deng Wol said these are civilians now they will be transferred to Aweil Town,” said one of the youths, who is also a state government employee.
The youths were then taken to the security office in Aweil town but not jailed as the security told them not to leave the town until the investigation was finished. By Saturday, 8 March, the security in Aweil released them from investigation after they found that they are not guilty.
“We remained in Aweil for a couple of days under investigations from national security and staffs from ministry of finance,” one of the freed youths said.
Among the youths who were investigated were Garang Awan Akon, Geng Majok Majok, Tong How, Cieny Makuiei Nyong, Atak Akon, Akon Deng, Aguer Dhen Dhen, Aguer Dut and Mawein Deng
Related coverage:
Youth leaders arrested in crackdown in Aweil East (3 March)