Warrap state claims UN report of extrajudicial killings is ‘propaganda’

JUBA – The government of South Sudan’s Warrap state has described a report by the Human Rights Division of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) that it has documented cases of extrajudicial killings as propaganda.

Last week, the world mission said in a report that it in March documented at least 14 incidents of extrajudicial killings in Warrap, resulting in the execution of 29 males, including boys and elderly men.

The victims were allegedly removed from prison or police custody and brought before local officials for “sentencing”.

Eyewitnesses reported that some men were taken to remote areas, tied to trees, and executed by firing squad.

In some instances, their bodies were reportedly left on the trees as an example to the community.

It has also been reported that 13 people have been arbitrarily executed since mid-June at the instruction of state officials in Cueibet and Rumbek East counties in Lakes State.

“This spate of extrajudicial executions is deeply disturbing,” said the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Nicholas Haysom.

“People accused of crimes have the right to a fair trial as part of a formal judicial process. They should not be subjected to the random judgment of government or traditional leaders that they should be taken out and shot in front of their families and communities,” Haysom added.

In an interview with the Juba-based Eye Radio, the government of Warrap state said “the reports by UNMISS about extrajudicial killings in Warrap state are propaganda” and that it was working in line with the transitional constitution of South Sudan.