Gwongorki Graveyard located at Nyakuron West. (Photo: Awan Moses/Eye Radio).

The National Security Service has denied accusations that it has grabbed Gwongorki Graveyard located at Nyakuron West residential area.

The Internal Security bureau has been publicly accused of attempting to illegally privatize Gwongorki graveyard.

The ongoing construction of a concrete wall by the National Security has prompted speculation from citizens and activists.

However, the institution says the fencing of the graveyard is a gesture to make a decent place for the bodies of the martyrs buried there.

General Luis Natale, the Deputy Director for Internal Security Bureau denied grabbing the Gwongorki graveyard.

“The rumors that we heard is that the National Security is the one want to take the cemetery, but the truth is that the Director General (Akol Koor), with his brother (Mayor Allah-Jabu) are the people who agreed (to build the fence),” he said.

General Natale further said sojourners and waste-litters have over time trespassed the area which later results in unprecedented levels of extreme and overloaded waste.

He said that all these disorderly graveyard activities prompted the service to fence that area, making it inaccessible for these actions.

“The director general came up with the idea because he comes in the morning every day and does see the waste along the roadside.”

“And he said those people who are sleeping here are our sisters, colleagues, and our mothers. Is not good to pour waste over their head.”

For his part, the Mayor of Juba City Council says the fence was built in consultation with Kator Quarter Council.

Michael Lado Allah Jabu says construction is an initiative of the City Council and the office of the Internal Security Bureau to protect the graveyard.

“I would like to make it very clear that, there’s no any bad intention of grabbing or taking the graveyard, instead it is a support to the City Council,” he said.

“We raised this as an alarm on different occasions that we want to protect those places we honored our dead souls and the authorities of Internal Security Bureau has taken the lead in order to support the city council.”