Critic Morris Mabior Awikjok Bak was arbitrarily in Nairobi, Kenyan on 04

The High Court in Juba at the weekend granted bail to activist Morris Mabior Awikjok Bak who was detained since February 2023 at the National Security Service (NSS) detention facility on defamation charges.

Mabior’s ordeal began when he was forcibly abducted from Nairobi, Kenya, on February 4th, 2023, and returned to South Sudan.

A critic, he was reportedly arbitrarily arrested, allegedly by armed Kenyan security forces and a South Sudanese man in civilian dress in Nairobi, Kenya from his residence.

Despite his detention, the National Security Service initially declined to acknowledge that it was holding him until his sudden appearance in court on April 24th, 2024.

However, the court proceeding revealed he faces defamation charges filed by Internal Security Bureau Director General General Akol Koor.

The charges against Mabior were based on Sections 289, 113, and 291 of the Penal Act 2008.

However, the hearing was deferred after his Defense counsel Kiir Chol Deng, filed a criminal appeal against the county court’s initial decision to deny bail.

On Friday, High Court Judge Francis Amum Awin signed an order nullifying the previous court’s decision and granted bail to Mabior on  9 August, 2024.

This means the hearing of the case will proceed with Mabior having to come to the court from home according to scheduled sessions.

Meanwhile, Judge Awin said that both parties have what he terms as automatic right to appeal the judgment within 15 days.

According to South Sudan penal code, bailable offenses are those offenses or crimes that are not very serious. It asserts that a bail is a right and the arrested person must be released after depositing the bail with the police.