A prominent civil society activist in Jonglei state says he is facing threats and intimidation following his recent criticism of state government policies.
Bol Deng Bol, who is based in Bor, the capital of Jonglei, told Radio Tamazuj on Monday that he believes he is being targeted for his advocacy, which he said is being mischaracterized as opposition.
A statement widely circulated on social media and allegedly issued by individuals linked to Governor Riek Gai Kok’s press office accused Bol of spreading misinformation intended to incite unrest. The statement also warned of unspecified consequences.
“Governor had embarked on a policy of creating Payams and Bomas, a move criticized by many people including us in the civil society; instead, we advocated for service delivery,” Bol said. “Again, we criticized lack of confidentiality in the state following the leaking of names of those nominated for appointment by the president to the state government. I think this led governor’s office have a different thinking about us.”
He continued: “As an activist, I feel intimidated, and these threats are intended to silence me.”
Bol said he contacted the governor’s official secretary after seeing his name tagged in the post.
“I called governor’s official secretary, but he said the press unit was not responsible for it. But the post bears the name of a person working for the press unit; the press secretary admitted the person works with him but that he didn’t give authorization,” Bol said.
He added that he is concerned about the shrinking civic space in Jonglei.
“I am not happy that the civic space is being shrunk through intimidation,” he said.
For his part, Manath Gany Lual, the governor’s press secretary, distanced the state government from the threats and said the civil society plays a vital role in governance.
“The statement was issued on a Facebook page not belonging to the state government and no one authorizes it,” he said. “As a government, we cannot intimidate civil society; it is their right to awaken the government. Again, if we are to issue a statement, it would bear our stamp.”
This is not the first time Bol has faced threats and intimidation in the state.
Last year, he fled his hometown of Bor and spent several months abroad after an attempt by security operatives to arrest him.
Bol’s troubles stemmed from his alleged involvement in protests in July last year over the rising cost of living in Bor.
South Sudan’s civil society operates under tight restrictions due to government repression and insecurity, with organizations facing harassment by security forces and the absence of an enabling environment.