Don’t forget your comrades in good time

The authorities in the Anglican Church have revealed out of the 20 SPLA-IO soldiers and civilians jailed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, five of them have died in the jail.

The convicts were sentenced to 3–5 years of imprisonment for carrying firearms and crossing the border. The general overseer of the four-square Gospel Church in South Sudan, Bishop Alfred William Lasu, confirmed that the convicts are in a dire situation of poor health and hunger.

According to the information, four of the current 15 convicts are seriously sick. It is now over one month since the cleric reported about the jailed South Sudanese in the DRC and it seems that no step has been taken by the South Sudanese authorities to find out from the DRC the conditions of the convicts not to mention the crimes they might have committed.

All prisoners are entitled to better services, and according to the information from the Bishop, already five people have lost their lives even before completing their jail terms. This is clear evidence that life in the facility is very hostile and not good for human survival. The government and the leadership of the SPLA-IO should follow up the case very keenly. There is no way we can leave our citizens to die in prisons like chickens. The SPLA-IO should not leave their officers to die in the prison as if they were not important soldiers during the movement’s struggle. These are the people who sacrificed their lives, children, and wives and decided to join the struggle in the bush due to the beliefs they have in the movement.

Therefore, the SPLA-IO leadership should take up the initiative to follow up on its jailed forces in DRC to secure their release from the prison. Indeed, several people often sacrifice their lives for a good course but only a few of them realise the reward of their contribution.

Many of them who died in the jungle have their names erased from our memory. We do not talk about them. Also, those who survived the struggle are abandoned to make ends meet on their own and no one remembers them. It is not good to forget your comrades in good time.

According to the Bishop, those officers had not committed any big crime rather than crossing into DRC territory with their firearms. Alongside the military, other civilians were sentenced because of poaching.  The government also needs to reach out to check on their conditions at the facility they are imprisoned in.