Opposition Leader Kon Says Officers Blocked His Domestic Flight to Wau
JUBA — Kornelio Kon Ngu says security officials prevented him from boarding a flight from Juba to Wau on Tuesday after he had completed airport procedures. The leader of a faction of the National Alliance of Political Parties said officers told him to seek permission from President Salva Kiir’s office, according to Radio Tamazuj’s account of his interview.
Kon said he intended to attend memorial prayers for his sister. Alliance spokesperson Gabriel Alazir said Kon also planned to meet party members ahead of the proposed 22 December election. Alazir told journalists that an officer had invoked an instruction from the country’s “highest authority,” Sudans Post reported. Neither a written instruction nor an official explanation has been published; the attribution of responsibility to the presidency remains an allegation.
Candidate-status clarification: Kon declared a presidential bid in August but announced its withdrawal on 8 October. He remains an opposition political leader. Reports of the airport incident that call him a current aspirant do not address that earlier announcement.
A different kind of travel restriction
Kiir recently reiterated a permission rule for constitutional officeholders travelling abroad. Kon says he does not hold a government office and was attempting a journey within South Sudan. The stated official rule does not, on the information available, explain his treatment. Airport security, the National Security Service and the presidency had not provided a public account in the reports reviewed for this article.
Analysis: Even after withdrawing a candidacy, an opposition leader’s ability to travel and meet members matters to political participation. This one incident does not establish a nationwide policy or prove presidential involvement. It warrants a prompt written explanation, a legal basis if a restriction exists, and an avenue to challenge it.
South Sudan Press is seeking responses from the presidency, NSS, airport management and National Elections Commission. We will ask Kon for his boarding pass and ticket, and seek independent witnesses, any written directive and accounts of comparable incidents involving other political groups.