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| Posted to the web on June 3, 2010 |
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June 2, 2010 (JUBA) — A number of political and military leaders from the Murle community of Pibor County in Jonglei state have been arrested in the South Sudan’s capital, Juba.
Mary Boyoi
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Mary Boyoi, a popular South Sudanese female artist and member of the Murle Community, said among the leaders arrested on Tuesday included her uncle who previously tried to contest for parliamentary seat during the April elections.
“Last night I talked with my mother. She called me from Juba and informed me that my uncle, William Boren, and four other leaders from the Murle community were arrested at their place of businesses and homes by Military Intelligence."
"I was very shocked to hear this news and extremely concerned for the reason of their arrest. At this point my family has not heard from my Uncle and no one is clear as to why they were arrested. Some of the rumors from the Murle community say they have been detained because of the issue of George Athor and his rebellion," she explained.
Mary Boyoi further explained that her uncle was initially a nominee of the SPLM Political Bureau, but his nomination was later on canceled while he did not react negatively to the move.
"For myself I cannot believe this to be true. My Uncle applied to run as an MP with SPLM. He was nominated and then that nomination was canceled. He accepted that. He did not attempt to run as an Independent or with another party. He stayed true to his commitment with SPLM. He has been a strong SPLM/A supporter since the late 80’s. He was one of the first Murle to join the movement," she further explained.
The other men arrested also have been high ranking SPLA commanders and long time SPLM members, she added.
Mary Boyoi also explained that her uncle and others were denied to cast their ballot papers during the April elections because their names were already used by unknown individuals who used them to cast their votes.
“I know they all went to Pibor to vote. The day they were going to vote they found that their names had already been used to cast the ballot. So they left Pibor and returned to Juba. They did not involve themselves in any "rebellion".
Pibor County has recently witnessed a military standoff between the forces of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and supporters of David Yauyau, a former independent candidate who was angered by the alleged rigging of elections results and reportedly coordinated the move with the renegade former SPLA Deputy Chief of General Staff, George Athor Deng.
"My greatest fear now is that my Uncle is [could be] dead. I have lost so many family [members] and friends during the war. My Uncle is now the only one I have. I don’t want something bad to happen to him from his own comrades. He has always believed in SPLM/A, and has never worked against them," she concluded.
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