Kiir told to show commitment by releasing detainees

President Uhuru Kenyatta welcomes former South Sudan political detainees at State House, Nairobi in 2015. PHOTO | NMG

As the warring parties in South Sudan prepare to sign a final peace deal on August 5, President Salva Kiir is under pressure from the opposition, the civil society and influential US senators to release thousands of citizens who have been detained without trial for years.

Since the war began in 2013, several youth groups, prominent political and human rights activists, prominent business people and journalists have been arrested and detained without charge and without access to family members and lawyers.