A critic based in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, Dut Kuot Akook, who has been engaged in a legal battle with Governor Simon Ober Mawut, has been sentenced to 14 months in prison.
Kuot, who has been working at the state’s finance ministry, was arrested on 26 February and detained at a national security facility on allegations of defaming the governor through an article which pointed out failures in the state government.
Angelo Akuoc, a close friend of Kuot, accused the governor of using state power to influence the court ruling. He said Kuot has enough evidence to back up his writings about poor leadership in the state, but that nobody looked into them.
“What Governor Ober is doing is an abuse of power; he has used the power to jail Dut Kuot Akook because he printed a lot of evidence, but the judge did not pay attention to that,” he said. “The proof is that the ruling was passed in the absence of Kuot’s relatives in the morning.”
For her part, Achiek Garang Tong, Kuot’s wife, told Radio Tamazuj that the court was unfair.
“This [ruling] is unfair because we thought that in a final court ruling, my husband could have been asked to present his evidence in the presence of his relatives,” she said. “Also, the court is supposed to make its decision when I am around so that I understand and hear it, so that I know what my husband has done wrong to the state governor. I think there is nothing wrong my husband has done.”
“I want to tell the governor and the judge who heard the case that everyone has the right to listen and understand the mistake they are accused of, and it was not good to rule in my absence,” she argued.
In response, Garang Makuei, the deputy press secretary in the Office of the Governor, who was present in court as the governor’s representative, said the ruling was fair.
“Those claims made by his [Kuot’s] wife are lies because there were some family members present during the court ruling,” he stated. “There was nowhere the judge messed up in the proceedings. The court proceedings from the beginning up to today show that the court was fair and there was no bias. There is nowhere the judge messed up.”
Meanwhile, Ter Manyang, a civil activist and Executive Director of the Center for Peace and Advocacy, said the Kuot’s wife had a right to witness the trial.
“The lady is right to witness the trial of her husband to see whether the trial is free and fair. I urge the court in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State to reconsider their decision so that this lady is satisfied,” he stated. “If the wife of a critic was absent during the ruling, I urge the authorities in Northern Bahr el Ghazal to consider that because the governor is a public figure and is subject to any sort of criticism. I think there is a need for the decision to be reconsidered.”