RUMBEK — Lakes State’s Community Empowerment Progress Organization has urged the state administration to free officials who are close to the first vice president, Dr. Riek Machar, stating that holding them in custody could jeopardize the nation’s precarious peace accord.
On March 24, 2025, the security forces detained MP Ater Akolde, State Minister of Animal Resources Gai Maghok, SPLM-IO Youth League Chairperson Mandela Maciek, and Deputy Governor Dr. Isaiah Akol Mathiang, who also serves as SPLM-IO Chairperson in Lakes State.
Their arrest came after denouncing the airstrikes against Nasir civilians, the “illegal detention” of its members, and the deployment of Ugandan troops in the region.
Daniel Laat Kon, CEPO Coordinator in Lakes State, told Sudans Post on Tuesday that the incarceration of Machar supporters would impede the two parties’ ability to collaborate.
“You know, according to the information we have heard, it is that the detention is regarding the statement that was made by SPLM-IO state leadership condemning a bombardment of civilians in Upper Nile State,” Laat.
Laat urged dialogue between the two sides in order to stop the violence from getting worse.
“You cannot detain someone who is speaking out about his views on issues of the country. This is our concern, and we are saddened by this news, and we condemn their arrest, and we are calling for their immediate release and for the government to dialogue with the opposition.”
According to him, the two principals within the state should resolve matters amicably in accordance with the terms of the agreement struck in September 2018.
