South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
The Director of Disability Affairs in the office of the vice president for Gender and Youth Cluster, Stephen Dhieu Kuach, accused of selling government vehicle and detained by police in June 2024 has appealed for speedy court trial.
“The constitution provides that the person should be taken before a court within 24 hours of arrest. South Sudan’s criminal laws say pretrial detention should not exceed six months unless extended by a court order,” said Kuach on Wednesday in a statement.
Kuach said that the alleged car disappearance is purportedly and ethically a matter that can be handled administratively, adding that he is in detention for three months without legal charges.
“I had no personal grudges with vice president Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior and I unquestionably respect her in several aspects. Whether the accusation is right or false, that is court matter,” he said.
A family member who is not named in a statement said South Sudan’s laws revealed that all detainees whether arrested by the police or the security services must be accorded basic rights.
He said that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), allows pretrial detention only as an exception and says that it should be as short as possible and that defendants should be tried without undue delay.
“Nobody wants to take responsibility. We try to talk to the Criminal Investigation Department, and they say go to vice president Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior. We go to vice president resident and they say go to the office. We are very frustrated,” said a family member in a statement
The Director of Disability Affairs in the Office of the Vice President for Gender and Youth Cluster, Stephen Dhieu Kuach, who is visually impaired was arrested in June 2024 over an alleged car disappearance.
