South Sudan activist flees country after days in hiding

JUBA – A prominent South Sudanese civil society leader has fled the country after several days in hiding, accusing the National Security Service (NSS) of relentlessly pursuing him for allegedly inciting protests over rising living costs in Jonglei State.

Bol Deng Bol, the Executive Director of INTREPID South Sudan and the Chairperson of the Jonglei Civil Society Network (JCSN), told the Sudans Post on Sunday that he had been forced to leave the country for his safety but declined to disclose his current location.

“The situation got extremely tough for me,” Bol explained, detailing the hardships of hiding from security forces. “Trying to keep myself away from the public, from the path of the security personnel who are searching for me, pursuing me everywhere in Jonglei, probably wherever they think I might be – it became untenable. So, I managed to leave this zone, leave this country altogether. I’ve left South Sudan now, but I still feel bad, of course.”

Bol emphasized the unconstitutional nature of his situation and the lack of clarity surrounding the accusations.

“I’ve left in very bad conditions,” he said. “I’m being chased away from my own country in a manner that is unconstitutional, in a way that is not clear at all. What charges are they pursuing me for? You know, like I’m some criminal or something?”

Bol expressed his deep concerns about the safety of his family back home, alleging threats made by the NSS to pressure him into surrendering.

“The safety of my family, of course, is not guaranteed as for now,” Bol said. “There were threats that they would do anything possible to ensure that I turn myself in, you know, or report myself to them, including pursuing the staff of the organization or my close relatives or family. There is still a problem there and so, yeah, it’s really not guaranteed. I am not even informed about their well-being.”

Bol’s flight follows the closure of his organization’s office by the NSS last week. A bank official at Ecobank South Sudan, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Sudans Post yesterday that Bol’s bank account and that of the organization have been frozen by the security service.

Bol said he had not been officially informed and learned about the alleged freezing of the account via the media.

“Actually, I was surprised that I got this on the media and so I’m trying to reach out to some people who can verify this information,” Bol said. “I still have not gotten official information from the bank, so I’ll see if I can get confirmation from the bank or from any security organ that can give out that information.”

#SouthSudan civil society leader @boldengdit says he has fled the country after days in hiding. Bol, who is the Executive Director of @Intrepidsosudan, informed Sudans Post this morning that he fled yesterday.#SouthSudan #BolDengBol #INTREPIDSouthSudan pic.twitter.com/4tJeaYced3

— Sudans Post (@SudansPost) July 7, 2024

Bol’s flight comes amid shrinking civic space in South Sudan. Today, the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) reported 15 incidents in which journalists and activists were targeted by the NSS.

The report also comes just days after the transitional parliament passed a controversial National Security Service Act (Amendment Bill 2024).

The bill, which empowers the NSS to search, arrest, detain and monitor communication without warrant, angered activists, with some like Yakani and Executive Director of Centre for Peace and Advocacy (CPA) Ter Manyang Gatwech reporting death threats.