Zimbabwean aid worker detained in South Sudan over alleged political discussion

Chris Nyamandi

BULAWAYO – A Zimbabwean aid worker has been detained without trial in South Sudan after allegedly discussing politics, ZimLive has learnt.

Chris Nyamandi, the South Sudan country director for UK-registered charity Save the Children, was seized from a hotel in the capital, Juba, on October 8 alongside a colleague working in the organisation’s business development department.

“They were arrested at a local hotel where they were eating. Authorities said they were discussing politics,” the colleague, who also works in the humanitarian sector in South Sudan, said.

An incident report circulated to Save the Children staff said “officials arrested an NGO staff member for unknown reasons in Juba Town Payam in Juba County.”

The report warned of a deteriorating security environment, saying “recent weeks have seen a more restrictive operating environment in and around Juba”, alongside “increased checkpoint activity and less predictable movement procedures.”

The colleague said Nyamandi was being held at Blue House, the headquarters of South Sudan’s National Security Service in Juba.

Save the Children had not responded to questions sent by ZimLive by the time of publication. The organisation is reportedly working behind the scenes to secure Nyamandi’s release.

Nyamandi’s detention comes amid heightened political uncertainty in South Sudan, where President Salva Kiir has dissolved the transitional government ahead of elections repeatedly postponed since the country gained independence in 2011.

On September 22, Kiir issued a decree dissolving the transitional government, the national legislature and state governments, three months before the country’s scheduled December 22 elections.

He subsequently appointed a caretaker administration as South Sudan prepares for its first national elections since independence.

The decree effectively ended a power-sharing arrangement established under a 2018 peace deal that brought an end to five years of civil war in which an estimated 400,000 people were killed.

The dissolution of state governments has added to insecurity by leaving key local government positions vacant, South Sudanese analyst Machot Amuom said.