Authorities from South Sudan’s special security branch on Friday reportedly arrested a Kenyan national, interrogated him for hours before deporting him, Sudan Tribune has reliably learned.
An airport official, speaking on condition of anonymity said Francis Karuggah, 27, a graphic design consultant was deported to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. He was reportedly warned never to return to the newly independent Republic of South Sudan.
Prior to his deportation, security men from the special branch are said to have stormed one of the hotels in Juba, the new country’s capital.
Karuggah was contracted by the opposition group the South Sudan Democratic Front (SSDF) to design identification tags for the party’s two-day conference.
The dramatic arrest, hotel sources told Sudan Tribune happened at around 10:00am local time. His attempts to explain the nature of the work and contract reportedly yielded no fruit.
“He [Karuggah] pleaded innocence but his plea could not save him. We only saw him being driven away in a numberless vehicle,” said a female member of the hotel staff.
There has been no official statement from either the Juba airport authorities or those who carried out the arrest and eventual deportation. Even officials from the Kenyan embassy were not notified of the incident.
When contacted on Saturday, Adolfus Ogendo, a Kenyan embassy official said he was not aware of the saga involving the deportation of their national. He vowed to follow-up the matter.
The incident comes less than two months after South Sudan gained its independence after a successful January referendum, becoming Africa’s newest nation. The vote was a key part of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended over two decades of war between north Sudan and South Sudan.
Source- http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-security-officials,39894