Arop Maliuth, Chairperson of the newly reconstituted Board of the Legal Training Institute (LTI)|Courtesy

The South Sudan Bar Association says it will take legal action against the Director of Traffic Police, Major General Kon John Akot, over new directives on vehicle regulations and fees.

The move follows an order issued yesterday banning the use of right-hand-drive vehicles, vehicles with tinted windows, and vehicles with sliding doors on the left side. General Akot also directed that public transport vehicles with sliding doors must ensure the doors open on the right side.

Motorists have been given seven days to comply before enforcement begins.

The Traffic Police had previously introduced new charges for driving tests and altered the renewal periods for vehicle registration logbooks and driving licenses, measures critics say violate existing laws.

The directives have drawn condemnation from national lawmakers, who argue the measures contradict parliamentary legislation and were introduced without legal authority.

MP Jiel Thow accused the Traffic Police leadership of imposing rules aimed at extorting money from the public, criticizing the mandatory “driving test certificate” as unlawful.

Similarly, Samuel Pochori Loti, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Security and Public Order, said the Traffic Police Director was openly defying the law.

He said that including insurance details in traffic records effectively reintroduces annual renewal requirements that parliament had previously scrapped.

Speaking at the opening of the Bar Association’s General Assembly in Juba, Chairperson Arop Malueth said the association would take legal action, citing breaches of constitutional and legal rights.

“We have taken note of these directives, which raise serious legal and constitutional concerns. We are committed to taking the necessary actions to uphold the rule of law,” Malueth said.

He announced the formation of a Public Interest Litigation and Human Rights Committee, to be inaugurated in January, which will mobilize Bar Association members to address such legal concerns.

Members of the public and motorists have also criticized the new traffic regulations and fees, describing them as an alleged attempt at extortion, according to Eye Radio’s Wednesday Dawn Show.