Lawmaker says NSS bill puts all, including Kiir, at risk

JUBA – A South Sudanese lawmaker warned on Thursday that the newly passed National Security Service (NSS) bill endangers all citizens, including President Salva Kiir Mayardit.

Juol Nhomngek Daniel, a member of parliament for Cueibet County in Lakes State, said the law, passed on Wednesday, grants the NSS sweeping powers that compromise everyone’s safety.

“By passing the law and giving such powers to the national security, all of us are not safe. Even the president himself is not safe. Even the director of national security is not safe. Everybody is not safe,” Nhomngek said in an interview with Sudans Post.

He cautioned that while those in power may feel secure, they become vulnerable once they step down.

“You will be safe as long as you are in power, and you are knowledgeable. Once you lose power or you step down from power, you are a target,” he said. “We need to be careful. We cannot create an idol that we will be worshipping in the name of targeting those we don’t want.”

The legislation, criticized for granting the NSS powers without judicial oversight, passed despite opposition from civil society groups.

The contentious provisions in Articles 54 and 55, now consolidated into Article 57, allow the NSS to arrest, detain, monitor communications, and conduct searches without warrants.

The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) and the Centre for Peace and Advocacy (CPA) expressed concern about the erosion of human rights protections.

On Thursday, Human Rights Watch urged President Kiir, whose SPLM-IG party controls parliament, to reject the bill and return it for amendments.

“President Kiir should reject the broad powers of arrest and detention and send the law back to parliament so they can bring the law in line with the constitution and international human rights standards,” said Laetitia Bader, Human Rights Watch’s deputy Africa director.

“This could go a long way to curtail abuses by the security service and contribute to a rights-respecting South Sudan,” she added.