A South Sudanese youth group on Sunday petitioned President Salva Kiir Mayardit to order the release of three former senior government officials, saying they have been detained for months without charge or due legal process.
In a petition addressed to Kiir through the Office of the President’s legal affairs department, the Aweil East County Youth Union in Juba called for the release of former Vice President for the Economic Cluster Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel Kuol, former First Undersecretary at the Ministry of Finance Garang Majak Bol, and former Undersecretary at the Ministry of Petroleum Deng Lual Wol.
All three former officials hail from Northern Bahr el Ghazal State. Aweil East is one of the counties in the state.
Benjamin Bol Mel was removed from his position as vice president and first deputy chairman of the ruling SPLM party before being placed under house arrest on Nov. 12, 2025. The youth group said he has remained in detention for more than 200 days without being formally charged, brought before a court, or granted bail.
Mel, a businessman-turned-politician, was appointed vice president in February 2025 and was widely viewed as a close ally of President Kiir and a potential successor. Kiir dismissed him from the vice presidency and his senior role in the ruling SPLM party in November 2025 without publicly giving reasons. He was also stripped of his rank as a general in the National Security Service (NSS) and dismissed from the service.
His arrest, along with those of Garang Majak Bol and Deng Lual Wol, has reportedly been linked to allegations of corruption and financial crimes, although authorities have not publicly announced any formal charges against the three men.
The Aweil East youth petition, signed by the union’s chairperson Amet Majok Majok, said Garang Majak Bol, the former First Undersecretary at the Ministry of Finance, and Deng Lual Wol, the former Undersecretary at the Ministry of Petroleum, were also placed under house arrest in February 2026.
The youth group argued that the continued detention of the three officials violates constitutional provisions guaranteeing personal liberty and due process. It cited Articles 12, 14 and 19 of the Transitional Constitution, which provide safeguards against arbitrary detention and require that detainees be informed of the reasons for their arrest and any charges against them.
The petition also referred to a March 6, 2026 submission by Kiirdit and Co. Advocates, legal representatives of Benjamin Bol, to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, seeking adherence to due process in their client’s case.
The youth group urged Kiir to direct authorities either to formally charge the three men and present them before a competent court, or release them unconditionally. It also called for their lawyers to be granted access to pursue legal proceedings and requested a review of the detentions to ensure compliance with the constitution and other laws.
The petition further appealed to the president to use his ongoing visit to the Bahr el Ghazal region as an opportunity to announce the release of the detained officials in “the interest of peace, national cohesion and reconciliation.”
The petition was copied to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, the South Sudan Human Rights Commission, and the Attorney General.
South Sudanese authorities have not publicly commented on the petition.
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