A guard stands by at one of the prisons in South Sudan

The former commissioner of Rumbek East County has been sentenced to one month in jail for defaming the SSPDF Commander, a lawyer has said.

Last month, soldiers detained James Mading Dhieu and his family at Aduel Payam for refusing to give soldiers bribes at an illegal roadblock.

He was traveling in a vehicle from Juba to Rumbek.

He, later spoke Eye Radio about illegal checkpoints in the area, prompting SSPDF Commander Jima Rehan to arbitrarily detain him twice at an army cell, especially after Dhieu sued him.

According to the ex-government official, the angry commander said he did not want him to speak to the media about the on-goings there.

Advocate Malith Mading told Eye Radio that James Mading is in the main prison now charge under section 289 defamation.

“James Mading is in the main prison now charge under section 289 defamation, that he has defamed the SSPDF that the soldiers have demanded money from his driver,” an advocate said.

“He was convicted on date 23 of March by the county court judge to one-month imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 SSP.  In default of payment of that money, he will be able to spend another one month in prison.”