Interim Chairperson Maj. Gen. Charles Tai Gituai - Courtesy

The Chairperson of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (R-JMEC) said the recently passed National Security Bill is a national concern and urged the executive to urgently provide information on its status.

Thirty days have already elapsed since the national parliament passed the controversial security bill which Speaker Jemma Nunu Kumba submitted to President Salva Kiir for assent, and there has not been any public update on what has become of the bill.

The passing of the bill in a dramatic sitting on 3rd July divided the national parliament, frightened citizens, and drew criticisms from opposition leaders and diplomatic missions.

Opposition lawmakers and civil society groups said maintaining Articles 54 and 55 of the bill was in contrary to a 2023 consensus between President Kiir and First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar for such clauses to be scrapped.

The security bill is rumored to have been forward to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs for legal advice, but there are fears about a window in the transitional constitution, which permits that if the president has not signed a bill within 30 days without prior explanation, it eventually becomes a law.

Charles Gituai, the head of R-JMEC, said the unity government should give an update on the issues after a month of silence since the bill was forwarded to the President.

“The issue of the national Security Bill 2024 is concerning.” Gituai said at an R-JMEC meeting in Juba on Thursday.

“It was subsequently forwarded to the president for assent, who I understand requested a legal opinion from the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. I would like to hear an update from the RTGoNU on the status of the Bill.”

Previously, Civil Society Activist Edmund Yakani made a similar call to President Kiir’s office to inform the country on the fate of the bill that give the security agency power to arrest suspects without obtaining a warrant.

Mr. Yakani, the Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, also claimed that he was aware the president did not sign it into law, and instead, forwarded it to the Ministry of Justice.

The activist said it is important that the top leadership updates the public on the contentious bill, which, according to him, has huge implications for the transitional process and the Tumaini Initiative.

On his part, Taban Christopher, an activist representing the civil society groups, called upon the presidency not to sign the bill that retains arrest and detention without warrants.

Taban underscored the concerns of South Sudanese citizens on the bill.

“Since it had been passed by the parliament no comment has been made, where are we? Is the government, the President are in to it? If not, where are we? The law indicates that within thirty days it should have been a law.”

“Is it going to be as it is? No! allow me to be comic here a bit, His excellency I know this is going to reach you. Your excellency they want to take the country for which you fought in to the harvest. It is a scum your excellency. Please don’t sign the bill.”

– Growing concerns –

On 8th July, opposition groups in the Tumaini Initiative, negotiating peace under Kenyan mediation with the transitional government, declared that they will not sign any agreement with the R-TGONU until the bill is revoked.

They said the NSS must be reconstituted into a civilian National Intelligence Service with the mandate to gather intelligence without powers of arrest, detention, and interference in the political processes.

The SPLM-In Opposition also called on President Kiir to uphold the principal’s decision to repeal the provision allowing arrest without a warrant in the NSS bill and urged him not to approve it.

Further, the Human Rights Watch appealed to the President on 4th July, to reject the draconian legislation.

Laetitia Bader, the Deputy Africa Director at Human Rights Watch, said the South Sudan parliament was expected to omit the clause used as justification for alleged arbitrary arrests and detention.

According to him, the security bill would further undermine human rights and entrench the agency’s longstanding abuses in the country. He stated that the security service has exercised these powers without meaningful judicial or legislative oversight, and its agents are rarely punished for abuses.

It has repeatedly called on the South Sudanese authorities to limit NSS powers to intelligence gathering, as envisioned by the Transitional Constitution of 2011, which mandates the agency to focus on information gathering, and analysis and to advise the relevant authorities.

On 10th July, the Embassies of Western countries in South Sudan expressed grave concerns over the move by the national parliament to pass the security bill, adding that enactment of the bill to law will be regrettable at any time.

The diplomatic missions of Canada, European Union, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States in the country said the bill will constitute a significant shift away from opening civic and political space as the country prepare for its first ever elections.

The South Sudan government condemned the foreign missions for criticizing the passing of the draconian bill, describing it as an interference in the internal affairs of South Sudan.

In a two-page document issued on the same day that the security bill was submitted to the president, Amb. Wol Mayar, the Director of Media and Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, accused the diplomatic missions of inciting the public against authorities.