Adhum Achol Geu, Lakes State’s deputy chair of Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC), was arrested on September 10th, 2023, following the fatal shooting of the head of RRC, Dut Malual Chahoc, at the commission’s compound where Geu was present.
The incident occurred on September 8th when the RRC head was shot dead around 8:00 PM by a watchman, who was subsequently killed in an exchange of fire with security forces resisting arrest on the same day.
Adhum, reportedly residing in the compound, was apprehended two days later alongside others, with government officials asserting that his arrest was sanctioned by the prosecutor, an assertion refuted by the SPLM-IO.
In a statement provided to Sudans Post yesterday, Juol Nhomngek Daniel, an SPLM-IO lawmaker representing Cueibet County in the Transitional National Legislative Assembly, criticized Adhum’s detention as arbitrary and legally unjustified.
“The detention of Hon. Adhum Achol Geu at the Military Detention Centre at Panda Hotel in Lakes State, without any clear reasons up to date, amounts to arbitrary detention for several reasons,” expressed Daniel in the statement.
He further urged the Lakes State government to bring Adhum Achol Geu to court promptly or release him, cautioning that the SPLM-IO might pursue legal recourse against the state government.
“We strongly urge the government of Lakes State to present Hon. Adhum Achol Geu before a court with competent jurisdiction within a reasonable timeframe after receiving this statement or release him unconditionally with compensation if there are no charges against him,” Daniel emphasized.
“If the Lakes State Government does not respond to this request, we may resort to filing a case at the East African Court of Justice, citing violations of rule of law, democracy, and human rights standards,” he concluded.