36. The Complainants
submit that each of these authorities has the legal obligation
and constitutional mandate to stop the human rights violations, and the
competence to issue legal advice and orders for the investigation of the Police
and the soldiers, including the commanders, but none of them acted positively.
Instead, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice, who is the Chief Civil
Administrator of the Ministry, bluntly told the Complainants verbatim that
"there is nothing the Ministry of Justice can do in that case".
37. They added that the reason they resorted to reintroducing their petition at
another Police Division - the police at the Northern Division, which was aside
from the one within their area of residence was because they saw no prospect of
success in relying on the authorities to move their complaints forward to the
highest levels as they should. However, the Northern Police Division could only
open a criminal case with number 6105/2021 against Mading, due to the fact that
any criminal case against the unit of the joint og~.ri~tionforce, in Lologo II or the
military police would require waiver of immunit)/6f those forces or the approval
of the Inspector General of the Police and that of the Chief of Defense Forces or
the President of the Republic.
38. The Complainants further submit that their lawyer was abducted, tortured and
abused on December 21, 2021, arbitrarilyjarrested anclJrreatened with death on
12 January 2022, also attacked on 14 january 2022, but-managed to escape, and,
again, arbitrarily arrested, handed a travel ban and had his passport unlawfully
seized on 25 January '~JJ2~. The same soldiers and other officers coerced the
Chairperson of the South Sudan Bar Association to violate the rights of the
lawyer to an independent bar association and due process of law, they also
attacked and threatened to kill the prosecutor in Lologo II.
39. They fear that a third fabricated case could follow with another wave of serious
violat!081.1~
of human r~g,Q!sif the Complainants insist on attempting to exhaust
the difficult local remedy process; They allege that every CID police in Lologo II
moves with an illegally photocopied warrant of arrest indicating the arrest of the
lawyer and others
by
finy
law enforcement, and that they have continued to
_~
,.
';'r~~<"
suffer inhumane treatments as a result of grave misconduct and the violence
deployed by the illegal and disproportionate use of force against them by the
military police and the joint operation force in Lologo II. Consequently, Modong
and other complainants have had to flee the area, taking refuge in Uganda.
40. The Complainants posit that Article 151 (6) and Article 152 (c) of the Transitional
Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan state that "the national armed forces
shall respect and abide by the rule of law and respect the will of the people, the
civilian authority, democracy, basic human rights and fundamental freedoms ..."
and that the national armed forces shall not be used as an instrument of physical
intimidation of the civilian population."
77th
Ordinary Session of the ACHPR