Peter Sule speaks to Eye Radio, 17th October 2013.

Peter Abdul-Rahman Sule, the former leader of the United Democratic Front Party, who was detained allegedly for rebelling against the government, says nine of his followers are still being held by the government.

Sule was arrested in November 2011, in Western Equatoria State, allegedly for forming a rebel group.

In an exclusive interview with Eye Radio, Mr. Sule denied the charges.

“Rebelling against the government, against the politics and against the wrongs of the government is not a crime,” he said.

“Opposition against the government is not a crime.

“What I did was to try to run away from the country. I felt bad and I did not think that my life was secure. I wanted to go away secretly.

“Well, if I wanted to form a rebel group, it was not to be formed there where I was caught. I have a place here – the entire Central Equatoria State is wide enough for a movement to start in.

“Why shouldn’t I do it there? Was I going to start it on a road where I was arrested?

“I was going away; I was trying to go away from the country, yes.”

Mr. Sule is urging the Government to release the nine men who were arrested with him:

“I am now with my family; I would like to see them also with their families.

“Their families keep ringing me about their boys, but I kept telling them that these people [the Government] kept promising to release them.

“Probably I don’t know what they mean by that, but I do hope that there is a valid reason for them being kept in detention, when they had already been released by the amnesty and the amnesty of course being a general amnesty included them, because I was their leader.”

On October 7th, President Salva Kiir pardoned Peter Sule and other rebel commanders who took up arms against the Government.