The ruling SPLM in Eastern Equatoria State has demanded that authorities clarify the whereabouts of its Kapoeta South County secretary, Alex Lothian, and another man, Matthew Loteyo, following their reported arrest by South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) soldiers in Kapoeta.
The two men were reportedly arrested at Junction Inn Hotel in Kapoeta town around midnight on October 30 while socialising. Their whereabouts remained unknown.
The disappearance has prompted concern among political leaders, women’s representatives and community members, who have called on authorities to establish what happened to the two men.
Speaking at a press conference at the SPLM state secretariat in Torit on Monday, Emmanuel Ephone Lolimo, the party’s secretary for mobilisation in Eastern Equatoria, said the party was concerned by conflicting accounts of the men’s whereabouts.
Lolimo said military personnel had informed the party that the two men were released on the night of their arrest, but their current location remained unknown.
“When somebody is released, where are they? That is the concern which everyone is trying to know,” he said.
He urged the relevant authorities to disclose the men’s whereabouts, ensure their safety and respect their fundamental rights.
Lolimo called for their immediate release if there were no lawful grounds for their continued detention, or for them to be brought before a competent court if they were suspected of committing an offence.
He also said the arrest did not appear to be connected to a recent incident in Nakeke, Kapoeta South County, although the circumstances surrounding the men’s disappearance remained unclear.
Kapoeta Municipal Council Mayor Lotede Lomuria Abraham said he had made inquiries after receiving reports of the men’s arrest.
According to Abraham, soldiers acknowledged arresting the two men during night patrols but said they had released them after establishing their identities.
The mayor said efforts to establish their whereabouts had continued without a clear answer.
He rejected broader allegations of abductions in Kapoeta town, saying the two men were the only missing persons reported to his office at the time.
Abraham described the general security situation in Kapoeta as calm, saying markets remained open and residents continued with their daily activities.
Meanwhile, Eunice Nakwar Paul, chairlady of the Toposa Women’s Association, told Radio Tamazuj that the disappearance had caused distress among the families.
Nakwar appealed to the government, security authorities and community leaders to intervene and provide information about the two men.
“We want to see them. If they are alive, they have to tell us. If they are not, they have to tell us so that we know,” she said.
Nakwar said the families had been left without clear information about what had happened to their relatives and called on authorities to explain the circumstances surrounding their reported arrest.
The SSPDF in Kapoeta could not immediately be reached for comment.
and then