Prominent activists allege targeted assassination plot

Deng Bol Aruai Bol, the Chairman of the South Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SSPLM/A), revealed Saturday that he and several other prominent figures have been allegedly named on a government assassination list.

Those listed allegedly include Deng Bol Aruai Bol, Agel Ring Machar, Former Press Secretary in the Office of the First Vice President, literacy and political activist Chol Duang, former Executive Director of Okay Africa Foundation Wani Michael, journalist Garang John, and former intelligence chief Dr. Majak D’Agoot.

In a public statement issued Saturday, Bol condemned the alleged plot, emphasising his commitment to non-violence and free speech.

“I carry no weapons but words. My only ‘crime,’ if any, has been to speak openly and honestly about what our country should be doing for its people.”

The activist warned that if speaking out warrants a death sentence, “something is profoundly broken in South Sudan.”

Bol held the government responsible for ensuring the safety of all citizens, particularly those targeted for exercising their constitutional rights. “We are not the threat,” he asserted. “We are the reminder of what we should have been, and what we still can become as a people and a country.”

Echoing Deng Bol’s defiance, Wani Michael, the former Executive Director of Okay Africa Foundation, shared his chilling experience.

“When I was in Juba, someone shared my name with the hitmen squad, too,” he revealed.

Wani claimed he survived a close-range assassination attempt in 2021 but said he remains undeterred. “You might kill us, but you can’t kill the idea and the quest for a free, democratic, and peaceful South Sudan,” he said. “This country will succeed!”

The allegations come amid ongoing political tensions in South Sudan, where activists and opposition figures have long faced harassment, detention, and violence.

The reported assassination list, allegedly contained in a confidential government document, has yet to be independently verified, and attempts to get a response from the government officials have been unsuccessful.

sudanspost.com