After a three-week incarceration, Malakal health officials are released

Following three weeks in police custody and later in prison in Malakal, two officials of the Upper Nile State health ministry have been released.  

The state health ministry’s administrative and finance chief, Joseph Kuol, and the human resources chief, Piot Aben, were arrested on January 19 for allegedly rejecting a newly deployed director-general.

According to a Radio Tamazuj report seen by NCMP, Piot Aben said they were released without charges a week ago.

“We were transferred from the police to the Malakal Central Prison, where we spent 19 days because we refused to turn over our official stamps to the public prosecutor,” Aben said. They released them last week without charging.

The summons to court has not yet been received, he said.

Our role is still that of health officials. Neither the police nor the attorney can use our stamps. ConseqWe want them to forward the case to the court so we can be tried and hand over the stamps there, but there is no sign of that as of now,” he noted. None of that,” he said.

Chagai Lual, the municipality’s health director, welcomed the duo’s release and said that health workers there have since resumed operations.

Earlier this month, health workers in Malakal downed their tools in protest of their colleagues’ prolonged detention.