JUBA – At least 27 military officers, including the son of a former finance minister, have been detained by South Sudanese authorities amidst mounting coup rumors, according to a credible security source.
These arrests come amid speculations that the National Security Service (NSS) was planning a coup against President Salva Kiir on Friday.
Speaking to Sudans Post on Sunday night, the source revealed that Colonel Sunday Tisa Sabuni of NSS is among those arrested. Sabuni is the son of former finance minister Aggrey Tisa Sabuni.
“Colonel Sunday Tisa Sabuni is among the people arrested from the NSS side,” the source said. “The reason for the arrest is that some individuals are untrusted, and the deployment of the forces is essentially due to these arrests.”
The security source said Sabuni, being an untrusted element within the NSS, was arrested along with 17 other NSS officers.
The source said that ten officers from the SSPDF’s Tiger battalion (presidential guards) were also arrested and clarified that the arrests were not a case of Tiger and NSS confronting each other but rather a joint effort to confront untrustworthy elements within their ranks.
“In the side of the SSPDF, ten have been arrested. So, the Tiger arrested their own people and the NSS arrested their own men, and it was not Tiger fighting against Tiger or confronting each other,” the source revealed.
“But the two forces were working together to confront the elements which are not trustworthy within them,” it added.
Despite these developments, the army has denied any imminent threat of a coup.
SSPDF spokesman Lul Ruai Koang, in a statement to Radio Tamazuj yesterday, described the claims as unfounded allegations made by people he said are “liars.”
“If there had been an attempted coup, things could not have become normal like they are now in Juba,” Lul emphasized.
The arrests have heightened concerns about the political stability of South Sudan, which has been plagued by conflict and instability for decades.
The country is currently undergoing a transition following the signing of the revitalized peace agreement and is preparing for its first elections since independence for December 2024
VIA. Sudans Post