South Sudan youth call for protest over deteriorating health of jailed ex-governor

Former Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal State Governor Kuel Aguer Kuel (photo credit: courtesy/cityreviewss.com)

September 17, 2021 (JUBA) - South Sudanese youth are calling to protest saying they are alarmed by continued the arbitrary detention of the former governor of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Kuel Aguer Kuel despite his worsening health conditions.

In early August 2021, Security forces arrested Kuel days after he signed a petition for a mass protest to press President Salva Kiir and his first deputy to step down accusing them of failing to implement the revitalized peace agreement.

In response to the call for protest, the security forces were massively deployed in the big towns particularly in Juba while some officials warned that live bullets would be used to disperse the demonstrations.

His family members told the Sudan Tribune Kuel remains in detention even after the demonstration could not take place and despite his deteriorating health and age.

No permission was granted for medical examination or treatment outside the jail, his family added.

His supporters and sympathizers circulated a photo in which the diabetic former governor sits in a chair and looks exhausted while he receives infusion therapy in an unidentified place.

The family says his blood sugar level was low and had lost appetite.

The photo prompted disbelief and anger among activists among call to protest demanding his release.

“We call on our people to take to the street because what is happening to Governor Kuel can happen to everyone,” a leading civil society activist told the Sudan Tribune on Friday when reached to confirm the authenticity of the photo.

(ST)