Sudanese authorities release rebel commander arrested in February in Khartoum for buying army uniforms – RSF

KHARTOUM – Sudanese security forces said on Saturday that they have released a South Sudan rebel commander who was arrested in the capital Khartoum in February this year for allegedly buying army’s uniform.

In February, Major General Sabit Kong Kuon along with three other junior officers, were arrested in Kalakala, a Khartoum  suburb, after they were allegedly caught illegally buying military uniforms from members of the Sudanese army.

In a statement on February 3, the spokesman of the RSF, General Jamal Juma, said an investigation revealed that the military uniform were meant for rebel forces allied to General Thomas Cirilo Swaka in Upper Nile state.

Subsequent reports that the four men had been deported to South Sudan’s capital Juba turned out to be untrue.

In an exclusive interview with Sudans Post on Saturday, Juma said the three men were released in June and were no longer in the Sudanese jail. He said they were released due to their health situation which he said made them weak enough for COVID-19 infection.

“These officers were released in June because of their health situation. They were vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic and that is why they were released,” Juma during an exclusive interview with Sudans Post in Khartoum Saturday.

Juma further said “we could not hand them over to the government of the state of South Sudan because they may end up in another jail. because there is a peace process between the rebels in that country going on, we decided to hand them over to their commanders.”