![South Sudan activist Edmund Yakani. [Photo courtesy]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Djfq2jGW0AAJpdg.png?resize=585%2C300&ssl=1)
Rebel forces allied to General Stephen Buay Rolnyang attacked Mayom on July 22, and killed at least 13 people including Mayom commissioner Maj. Gen. Chuol Gatluak Manimeh, one of the siblings of the presidential advisor on security affairs Tut Gatluak Manimeh.
The attack angered local authorities who intensified search and collaborated with Sudanese authorities to extradite four opposition soldiers believed to be behind the Mayom attack. The four Buay-allied officers were extrajudicially executed with one of them believed to have commanded that attack on Mayom being burn to death in the same manner Mayom commissioner died.
The three others were executed by firing squad.
In a presidential decree read out on the state-own South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) on Thursday night, Kiir formed a committee head by Senior Legal Counsel Sarafino Simon Mizan.
Other members of the committee include Major General Henry Lam Juach, Major General Abun Stephen Thiongkol, Judge Advocate Aguer Chol Aguer and Major Sebit Mahmud.
The committee is tasked to “investigate the cause of insecurity, including reported cases of extrajudicial killings and destruction of property that occurred in Mayom County.”
In a statement, Yakani who has been calling for accountability welcomed the decision by the president.
“CEPO welcomes the move by the President Salva Kiir on Thursday on the formation of the special committee to investigate the insecurity situation, including the extrajudicial killings in Mayom county of Unity State. This is a decision that the society was waiting from the president since several calls for justice and accountability on the extrajudicial killing in Mayom County were made by several actors in the country including the recent human rights reports issued by UN human rights agencies on massive killing of population in unity state within the shorter period of time,” Yakani said in the statement extended to Sudans Post.
Yakani thanked the president “for responding positively to our advocacy following the extrajudicial killing in Mayom and the recent human rights violations report issued by UN human rights agencies about the massive killings in unity state. It is the leadership of the president for impunity and injustice to be deal with in due legal process otherwise allowing culture of impunity and injustice to continue under the leadership of the president will be the responsibility of the president to be held accountable. Forming special committee on investigation of Mayom county extrajudicial killings and insecurity in unity state is clear demonstration of responsibility for not embracing impunity and injustice.”
The activist further said there should be transparency in the conduct of investigation and the president should make sure that the outcome of the investigation is immediately put into action by the head of state.
“The special committee formed by the president on Mayom county extrajudicial killings and insecurity in Unity State should conduct their process in transparent manner and president should ensure their findings are executed immediately because we have seen several similar attempts of investigations committees were formed and they came out with credible findings for making justice to prevail but their findings are undermine and made to dead natural without any impact after reasonable funds were spend by the committees from the public fund,” Yakani said.
“Examples are the findings of recent Kajokeji incidences, Dinka Twic and Dinka Ngok incidences, Leer incidence and many others. Culture of impunity is on raise in South Sudan so president should take harder decisions for holding perpetrators of human rights violations and unlawful acts accountable otherwise the impunity will be accounted against his leadership as we have seen in many cases of heads of state and government across the global,” he added.
