Posted: 29 April, 2025 Filed under: Mark Deng | Tags: fair trial, fundamental rights and freedoms, General Akol Koor Kuch, General Intelligence Bureau, house arrest, human rights violations, Morris Mabior Awikjok, National Security Service, nternal Security Bureau, President Salva Kiir Mayardit, public outcry, South Sudan, Transitional Constitution, treason, without a warrant
Author: Mark A.W. Deng
Melbourne Law School
Summary
This piece provides a critical analysis of General Akol Koor Kuch’s house arrest from a legal and constitutional perspective. It makes two principal arguments: 1) in placing General Akol under house arrest without having been formally charged with a crime and sentenced by a court of law, the executive government of South Sudan has assumed the fundamental function of courts to determine and award punishment for violations of laws;2) the house arrest violates General Akol’s personal liberty and fair trial protected in the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan, 2011.
President Salva Kiir Mayardit sacked his security chief, General Akol Koor Kuc, on 3 October 2024.[1] General Akol served as the Director-General of the Internal Security Bureau of the National Security Service for 13 years. The President immediately appointed him as governor of Warrap State but revoked that appointment a few days later.[2] He has been placed under house arrest in Juba since his sacking.
General Akol’s house arrest raises important questions of law. For example, what crime has he been charged with? Is it constitutionally permissible to place a citizen under house arrest without having been formally charged with a crime and sentenced by a court of law? These questions are the focus of this short piece.
Role of the National Security Service
The National Security Service (NSS) was established in 2014 under the National Security Service Act, 2014 (NSS Act), enacted pursuant to South Sudan’s Transitional Constitution, 2011.[3] It comprises two organs – the General Intelligence Bureau (GIB) and the Internal Security Bureau (ISB) – each headed by a director-general.[4] The NSS is headed by the Minister of National Security who is answerable to the President of the Republic.[5]
The GIB and ISB jointly exercise broad powers relating to internal and external security matters for the nation, including the powers to arrest a person of interest with or without a warrant.[6] Perhaps as a consequence of these broad powers, the NSS has been accused of appalling human rights violations, including extra judicial killing of dissidents.[7] General Akol allegedly borne the responsibility for these acts in that he used the NSS to protect his personal reputation. For example, many people who merely criticised him were arrested and put behind bars indefinitely. One such person is Morris Mabior Awikjok whose arrest and detention made headlines in the international media.[8]
Morris sought asylum in Kenya in 2021 reportedly after he spoke out against General Akol. Then, in 2023, the NSS agents dressed in Kenyan police uniforms kidnapped him in Nairobi.[9] He was taken to South Sudan and put in detention without any charges laid against him. He was set free by the new ISB Director-General, General Akech Tong, on 8 November 2024 along with other people.[10] General Akech was also removed in February 2025 for an unexplained reason.[11]
The NSS’ high-handedness has led to public outcry, calling for the NSS’ powers to arrest with or without a warrant to be repealed. The principals of the transitional government of national unity – President Mayardit and Dr Riek Machar Teny – heeded the call and instructed parliament in 2023 to pass an amendment to the NSS Act.[12] Parliament passed the bill in July 2024, but the impugned provisions were retained.[13]
The SPLM, which has its members as the majority in parliament, perhaps preferred to maintain the status quo and instructed its members to vote accordingly. It is also likely that the SPLM’s members of parliament voted under duress. General Akol, who was the most feared military officer in the nation until his sacking, was reportedly present in parliament during the voting process.[14]
The bill was submitted to parliament for reconsideration after General Akol was sacked, according to reports. It is unclear for the purposes of this piece what has come of it, if any.
What crime has General Akol committed?
President Mayardit gave no reason for sacking General Akol. However, it is likely that he felt threatened as General Akol was increasingly becoming too powerful. As a matter of fact, General Akol was accused of a coup attempt against the President in 2023.[15] This happened while the President was on an official trip to Saudi Arabia.[16] General Akol has strongly denied the accusation.
It is the President’s prerogative to relieve any person he has appointed to his government. General Akol recognises this, as evidenced in his appreciation letter to the President in which he was unreservedly gracious:
First and foremost, I would like to appreciate H.E. the President for the opportunity and the trust he bestowed upon me during the … 13 years as the Director-General of the Internal Security Bureau. Your Excellency, it was an honour to serve under your Comradeship in one of the most sensitive and important institutions in the country. It was through your guidance and directives that I was able to deliver and achieve some of the tasks assigned within the Service. I have cherished every moment of it. … I want to assure the public that I am one of those cadres trained, tested, committed and loyal to the Revolution. I will never deviate from the line of the Revolution. … Lastly, allow me to reiterate to your top echelon, my sincere gratitude and steadfastness in supporting your able leadership.[17]
However, the reason General Akol has been placed under house arrest following his sacking remains unclear. One thing that is clear, though, is that he has not been formally charged with any crime.
To further complicate matters, there was an unexplained fighting that took place in November 2024 between the government security forces and General Akol’s bodyguards.[18] Two of his bodyguards were killed. President Mayardit immediately formed a committee to investigate the matter. However, it is unclear what has come of the investigation.[19]
It would not be far from the truth if General Akol is being detained on the suspicion that he might rebel as he likely has been provoked. The suspicion also feeds into the fact that it has become a normal practice in South Sudan for one to rebel when he is relieved from a government position.
Constitutional implications of General Akol’s house arrest
The Transitional Constitution is the supreme law of South Sudan. It binds all the citizens, including the political leaders, military, and security officers. It vests the President of the Republic with the power to preserve and protect it.[20] Importantly, it enshrines fundamental rights and freedoms in the form of a bill of rights as limits on both parliament and the executive government.[21]
General Akol’s house arrest without formal charges runs afoul of the Transitional Constitution in two ways. First, it is in violation of the ‘personal liberty’ which says that ‘no person shall be subjected to arrest, detention, deprivation or restriction… except for specified reasons and in accordance with procedures prescribed by law’.[22] It is also in violation of the ‘fair trial’ principle. This requires that a) an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty b) be informed of the charges against him c) be brought to court within 24 hours of his arrest.[23]
Second, in placing General Akol under house arrest without having been sentenced by a court of law, the executive government has assumed the fundamental function of courts. This undermines the separation of powers where only courts have the power to determine and award appropriate punishment for violations of laws in all cases, including acts of subverting the constitutional government such as a coup or treason.
Conclusion
General Akol Koor’s dismissal was received with mixed emotions. To some to who he may have been a source of their fears, it was a relief. To others – his supporters – it was terribly upsetting to dismiss him in such a humiliating way.
Whatever led to his demise, it is in violation of his personal liberty and fair trial guaranteed in the Transitional Constitution to put him under house arrest without having been charged with a crime and sentenced by a court of law. If, indeed, he has committed a crime as alleged, he should be charged and brought to a court for trial. President Mayardit has the responsibility to ensure the Constitution is upheld and implemented to the letter. To ignore this responsibility is to betray the public trust vested in him and to render the Constitution meaningless.
[1] Garang Malak, ‘…President Kiir Dismisses Intelligence Chief Akol Koor Kuc’, The East African (3 October 2024) <www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/kiir-dismisses-long-serving-security-chief-4784638>.
[2] ‘Kiir Revokes Appointment of Ex-Spy Chief as Governor’, Radio Tamazuj (October 2024) <www.radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/kiir-revokes-appointment-of-ex-spy-chief-akol-as-governor>.
[3] Transitional Constitution art 160.
[4] NSS Act ss 8 and 9.
[5] NSS Act s 8 (2) and s 9 (2).
[6] NSS Act ss 54 and 55.
[7] ‘Undercover Activities: Inside the National Security Service’s Profitable Playbook’ (The Sentry’s Report, December 2022) <https://thesentry.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Summary-UndercoverActivities_TheSentry.pdf>.
[8] Amnesty International, ‘Forcefully Returned Critical Held Incommunicado: Morris Mabior Awikjok Bak’ (10 February 2023) <www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr65/6432/2023/en/>.
[9] Nyagoah Tut Pur, ‘South Sudanese Refugee Goes Missing in Kenya’, Human Rights Watch (19 February 2023) <www.hrw.org/news/2023/02/20/south-sudanese-refugee-goes-missing-kenya>.
[10] Chany Ninrew, ‘Rights Group Welcome Release of Morris Mabior Awikjok’, Eye Radio (11 November 2024) <www.eyeradio.org/rights-group-welcomes-release-of-activist-morris-mabior/>.
[11] ‘Kiir Fires Two VPs and a Spy Chief in a Major Reshuffle’, Radio Tamazuj (10 February 2025) <www.radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/kiir-fires-two-vps-spy-chief-in-major-reshuffle>.
[12] ‘Kiir and Machar Agree to Scrap NSS’ Powers to Arrest without a Warrant’, Radio Tamazuj (22 February 2023) <www.radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/kiir-machar-agree-to-scrap-nss-powers-to-arrest-without-a-warrant>.
[13] Akot Makur Chuot, ‘The National Security Bill of 2024: A threat to freedom of expression in South Sudan’, AfricLaw (22 July 2024) <https://africlaw.com/2024/07/22/the-national-security-bill-of-2024-a-threat-to-freedom-of-expression-in-south-sudan/>.
[14] ‘South Sudan MPS Pass Security Bill Despite Opposition’, Sudan Tribune (4 July 2024) <https://sudantribune.com/article287794/>.
[15] ‘Kiir Revokes Appointment of Ex-Spy Chief as Governor’, Radio Tamazuj (October 2024) <www.radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/kiir-revokes-appointment-of-ex-spy-chief-akol-as-governor>.
[16] ‘South Sudan Debunks Reports of Coup Attempt’, Radio Tamazuj (11 November 2023) <www.radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/south-sudan-army-debunks-reports-of-coup-attempt>.
[17] General Akol Koor, Letter of Appreciation to H.E. Gen Salva Kiir Mayardit, President and C-in-C of SSPDF and all Other Organised Forces, Republic of South Sudan (10 October 2024).
[18] ‘Kiir Launches Probe into Shootout at Ex-Spy Chief’s Home’, Radio Tamazuj (28 November 2024) <www.radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/kiir-launches-probe-into-shootout-at-sacked-spy-chiefs-home>.
[19] ibid.
[20] Transitional Constitution art 101.
[21] Transitional Constitution pt II.
[22] Transitional Constitution art 12.
[23] Transitional Constitution art 19.
About the Author:
Mark A.W. Deng is a South Sudanese public law academic currently serving as a McKenzie Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne –Australia. He can be reached at mark.deng@unimelb.edu.au/ marko.wek@uqconnect.edu.au
