Yei town, South Sudan (Photo: © RFI/Sheila Ponnie)

Yei River Commissioner has dismissed allegations of staged managed defection after three young men allegedly hired from a refugee camp to renovate a school were said to be NAS rebel deserters.

Sebit Peter, a whistle blower from Rhino Camp said men are civilians who fled the 2016 violence to Uganda.

According to him, a man identified as Mandela Nelson mobilized the boys -one of whom is his nephew, and brought them to Yei in the pretext of a construction project.

But in recent week, they were seen in uniform as NAS defectors to the government.

“They were told that they were being taken to Yei for a construction work.

“So that guy called Nelson Mandela mobilized them that he was taking them for school renovation in Yei and then upon reaching Yei, they are alleged to be NAS rebel deserters who have left the rebellion and have gone to join the government, yet some of these boys are civilians.”

According to Peter, one of the boy’s father left the camp to follow up on his son but was threatened.

Eye Radio’s effort to reach him were futile. When contacted, Aggrey Cyrus Kanyikwa, the Commissioner of Yei River County refuted the allegation.

Cyrus said all the rebel deserters came from DR Congo border and none of them came from the camp.

“That is not correct, and I don’t know that something happened like that.

“What I know, some of them (NAS forces) spoke to me to give them guarantee and they traveled  from the bush through Congo to Koboko, and  some went as far as meeting their families. Others traveled up to Kaya, and I think the SSPDF collected them from Kaya not from the camp.

Cyrus encouraged parents with lingering issues about their children to approach his office, and file their complains.