Maiwut commissioner detained at ‘Blue House’ – family and officials

JUBA – South Sudan’s National Security Service (NSS) is detaining the suspended commissioner of Maiwut County in Upper Nile State, several officials and a family member told Sudans Post on Friday.

A family member in Nairobi said Commissioner Ler Jock Thoan was arrested on September 3, 2025, in Malakal during the Upper Nile State annual commissioners’ forum by then-Governor James Koang Chuol, who was removed from his position last week.

The relative, who asked not to be named for safety reasons, said Jock was detained shortly after arriving in Malakal over allegations that he had used a WhatsApp group to coordinate a youth rebellion in Maiwut County — a claim the family dismissed as false.

“He was arrested upon arrival for the commissioners’ forum in Malakal because they claimed he was inciting the youth to rebel against the government in Maiwut, which is not true,” the family member said.

The family said Jock, who was suspended the same day of his arrest, was first held at a military intelligence facility in Malakal before disappearing from custody. He was later believed to have been transferred to the capital, Juba.

The family appealed to President Salva Kiir Mayardit to order his release from the detention, saying the governor who ordered the arrest is no longer in office and that there is no evidence against him.

Three local government officials, including Maiwut County Executive Director Chuol Koang, confirmed separately that Jock had been moved to Juba and is being held at the NSS’s main detention facility, known as the Blue House, pending investigation.

“Yes, I can confirm that he is being detained by the government and is in the Blue House in Juba. He is under investigation, and if the accusations prove wrong, he will be released,” Koang told Sudans Post from Maiwut.

Another government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Jock remains in detention because no one is actively following up on his case.

“In National Security, if you are detained and no one follows your case, they forget you there. The reason he is still detained is not because the accusations are true, but because no one is pursuing his release,” the official said.

The official added that there is no active SPLA-IO presence in Maiwut County and that local authorities and residents are largely aligned with the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In-Government (SPLM-IG).

“In Maiwut we have no SPLA-IO. The IO is in Longechuk, not here. Everyone here supports the president and the SPLM-IG, so it is hard to imagine anyone rebelling against the government,” he said.