South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Awan Achiek and Simon Deng
The Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) on Wednesday passed the National Security Service Act, 2014 (Amendment) Bill 2024 which grants sweeping powers to the security agency to search suspects and detain citizens without warrant.
The bill was passed through voting after lawmakers differed over section 54 and 55 which provides the NSS agents powers of arrest without warrant.
Oliver Mori Benjamin, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee for Information and Communication and spokesman of the TNLA, said out of 391 legislators, 247 members voted in favour of the bill and 114 against while 3 were absent.
“Since there was no consensus among them over this bill, and especially section 54 and 55, the house decided to exercise it’s democratic right,” Mori told journalists after passage of the bill.
Mori said the bill was passed by the majority of the house.
“This shows that clearly the parliament can change whatever the president decides, in spite of the powers given by the constitution,” he said.
He claimed that there was no document or evidence to show that the two sections, 54 and 55 were removed by the presidency as claimed by some legislators.
“Some members brought it up that they had agreed to remove this, some of these two articles, 54 and 55 but it was debated and no substantive evidence was presented to the house to show for that, that is to say the president and his vice president have removed as alleged by some members,” he said.
The Executive Director for Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Edmund Yakani on Wednesday slammed the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) for passing the controversial National Security Service Act, 2014.
“We are shocked that the National Security Service Act, 2014 is passed without amendment, that means the parliament does not respect the directives of the President,” said Yakani on Wednesday in an interview.
Yakani said that the presidency had prior recommended for section 54 and 55 of the NSS Act, 2014 to be removed or reformed in a manner that accommodates democratic principles and respect for human rights.
He added that section 54 and 55 of the NSS Act, 2014 is being used to suppress activists, journalists, human rights defenders, opinion leaders and the opposition.
The National Constitution Amendment Committee (NCAC) last year referred the NSS Act, 2014 to parliament for amendment.
The 2024 report by Freedom House, a UK-based think tank rates South Sudan with a score 1 out of 100 in the world in terms of freedom.
In February 2023, Cabinet Minister Martin Elia Lomuro said that President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his First Deputy President, Dr. Riek Machar agreed to scrap the powers of the National Security Services to arrest with or without a warrant.
Sections 54 and 55 of the National Security Service Act, 2014 give the security personnel powers to arrest, detain, monitor communications, and search and seize property without a warrant.
The National Security Service Act, 2014 which was amended in September 2019, allows security agents virtually unfettered authority to arrest and detain suspects, monitor communications, and search and seize property.
An arrest warrant is a document issued by a judge or magistrate that authorizes the police to take into custody someone accused of committing a crime.
