Fact-check: Jonglei State gov’t not buying abducted children from abductors

The Jonglei State government said it is using peaceful means, but not paying even a cent, to recover the abducted children and women from armed youth who raided Pibor.

Writer : Ghai Aketch 

On January 11, the government of Jonglei State recovered  68 abducted children and women, and later returned them to their authorities in the Pibor Administrative Area. 

However, allegations that the Jonglei government bought the abductees ensued on January 14. One media house  published the story on its website quoting anonymous sources. It later went viral on several Facebook pages here and here. 

“Eye witnesses in Jonglei state’s capital Bor are telling Sudans Post that at least two children abducted from the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) by armed youth who attacked the Murle area recently were sold on the streets of the Jonglei State’s capital.” The publication reads partly. 

On Christmas eve, armed youth from Jonglei  State launched a revenge attack in the Pibor Administrative Area. Such inter-communal  retaliatory attacks have been existing for decades between communities in Jonglei and Pibor. 

According to the local authorities there more than 50 people were killed, women and children abducted on the Christmas eve attack.

But when the armed youth retreated to their state, the state authorities said they negotiated with them to surrender the abductees which they (authorities) airlifted and handed over to Pibor administrators. 

However, information which circulated online contradicted this. It stated that the Jonglei State government paid abductors some money to get the abductees. 

This is a claim the State Minister of Information John Samuel Manyon denied saying it was ‘concocted and baseless.’   

“It has come to our attention that unfounded reports are circulating on social media that the government of Jonglei State has been paying abductors in exchange for abductees recently recovered and handed over to Pibor,” Manyuon said.

He continued: “Those reports are fake and baseless, and circulated by enemies of peace and progress. Therefore, we are informing the general public that allegations circulating on social media are concocted by agents of those politicians who are cutting-edges of their political interest at the expense of innocent lives.” 

Minister Manyuon reiterated that the government of Jonglei didn’t pay any single cent to recover the abductees. “We recovered such a huge number of abductees through dialogue with the ringleaders of the abductors.”

Conclusion:

No proof the Jonglei government paid abductors money to recover the abducted children and women. Additionally, the government is seen using a negotiation approach as it publicly engages the community leaders in the counties to trace the abducted Pibor residents.

This fact-check was published by 211 Check with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck and the African Fact-Checking Alliance.