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July 4, 2024 (Juba) – South Sudan’s National Assembly on Wednesday passed a bill giving security agents the power to arrest anyone without a warrant.
The controversial issue has divided parliament, with the opposition walking out in protest.
The National Security Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024, which was enacted during the war that broke out in 2013, gives secret agents the power to make widespread arrests without a warrant.
Wednesday’s meeting was attended by 391 MPs, of which 274 voted in favour, 144 against and three abstained. The meeting was attended by General Akol Kuk, head of the National Security Agency, and Angelina Teni, Minister of Interior.
The bill is designed to assist the government in gathering BroadCast Unitedligence, conducting analysis and passing information to relevant agencies and authorities to aid in the decision-making process. However, over the years, politicians and military leaders have used the bill to persecute rivals, members of civil society, journalists, advocacy groups and opinion leaders, sparking widespread concern and opposition. With the passage of the bill, many fear that it will strengthen the agency’s ability to stifle and restrict freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of assembly.
The agency has been using the act as a pretext to restrict freedom of association and assembly. Those who want to hold a meeting must apply for permission in writing, detailing the location, number of participants, and the time when the meeting will start and end. The agency reviews it before making a decision. In most cases, meetings are rejected by security forces and disrupted when unwelcome figures are involved.
The resistance has been exploiting sections 54 and 55 of the law, which give the agency broad and unconditional powers to arrest and detain people without a warrant for more than 24 hours. This section of the law has been the cause of the push for advocates to repeal it, which the president and his first deputy, Riek Machar, agreed to as part of security sector reforms before implementing the revitalized peace agreement.
Speaking on behalf of parliament, Information Committee Chairman Oliver Mori Benjamin told reporters on Wednesday that parliament could not reach a consensus, so the vote was the only option. Parliament is made up of MPs appointed by the political parties that signed the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement. The majority of members are from the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, led by President Salva Kiir, while others are from the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO), led by First Vice President Riek Machar. The South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) and Other Political Parties (OPP) also have seats in parliament.
Members of the South Sudan People’s Movement Alliance and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition marched in protest, while the SSPP sided with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, with some members abstaining from voting, allowing government MPs to pass the bill with a mechanical majority. Benjamin explained that MPs exercised their democratic rights and the bill was passed with a majority that complied with parliamentary rules. Many believe that the bill is a threat to citizens, but the passage of the bill came after President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek agreed to remove two clauses that grant the National Security Service the power to arrest and detain people without a warrant. It is unclear whether the bill will be returned to the House of Representatives as agreed by the two leaders, or whether it will be assented to by the President into law in violation of the provisions of the Revitalized Peace Agreement. Benjamin said that the House of Representatives did not receive any official communication from the leaders of the parties in August.
“There is no document that shows that the two agreed to delete or remove Sections 54 and 55. There was a debate in the House on this. So, that is what happened,” Benjamin said when asked why the House decided to pass the bill despite the agreement between the two heads.
Sudan’s first deputy speaker, Oyet Nathaniel, deputy chairman of the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition party, protested the passage of the bill and demanded that the two sections be deleted.
Councillor representing SSOA and current acting chief whip Peter Lomude also called for the removal of the two clauses, saying they violated the constitution and the peace agreement.
The lawmaker explained that the constitution gives the National Security Service the power to collect and verify information and to assist the police in making arrests.
Opposition MPs said the security services’ role is to collect and verify information, analyse it and forward it to relevant departments and agencies to assist in the decision-making process.
“Madam Speaker, I think that is very clear from your remarks at the beginning of this session. It is very important that the law we pass here is constitutional because it is the supreme law of the land,” Lomud explained.
Some opposition figures, civil society organizations and members of religious groups also protested the bill’s passage without removing sections 54, 55 and 57, saying it was not in line with international best practices and the principles of the Bill of Rights and UN international treaties ratified by South Sudan.
(English stone)
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