Former SPLA Chief of General Staff, Gen. Paul Malong has been under house arrest In Juba for the past few month according to his wife, Lucy Ayak. She has penned down a letter appealing to President Salva Kiir to release her husband from the house arrest to seek medical attention he needs.

This is the letter:

Open letter to the President of the Republic of South Sudan, H.E Salva Kiir Lucy Ayak Kenya Appeal by Gen.Paul Malong’s Wife for her Husband Release for Medical Attention

Mr. President, with humility and respect, receives my kind greetings. My name is Lucy Ayak, wife of your long time friend, comrade and commander; Gen. Paul Malong Awan, the former Chief of General staff of the SPLA. I find myself having no option rather than to use this forum to address you as my last resort since all other attempts to communicate with you have been circumstantially rendered futile. As you well know Mr. President, a young country like ours, born out of a protracted struggle, many people (sometimes entire families and clans) have had to sacrifice their brothers and sisters for the cause of liberation. Many of your comrades who started the struggle with you are no more, but the Country will forever be grateful for their sacrifices. As a wife of Gen. Paul Malong, along with his entire family, the situation we find ourselves in currently is purely precarious. I well understand that the struggle for liberation required the manpower to operate it, and to that end, I am a proud wife of one of our Country’s most decorated serviceman under your command and administration. And to that far, I consider myself lucky since many in my shoes have been widowed and their children orphaned by the brutal war that has claimed the lives of their husbands/fathers (your fallen comrades). Your Excellency, all I could

As a wife of Gen. Paul Malong, along with his entire family, the situation we find ourselves in currently is purely precarious. I well understand that the struggle for liberation required the manpower to operate it, and to that end, I am a proud wife of one of our Country’s most decorated serviceman under your command and administration. And to that far, I consider myself lucky since many in my shoes have been widowed and their children orphaned by the brutal war that has claimed the lives of their husbands/fathers (your fallen comrades). Your Excellency, all I could

Your Excellency, all I could hope for was that a time comes when my husband completes his call of duty and retires home to his family where we can raise our children in a peaceful family setting. That was my expectation when you, Mr. President relieved Gen. Malong of his duties two months plus ago. Indeed that was his expectation too, that since he don’t have official duties anymore in Juba, he could simply “go back to his home town and live peacefully amongst his people” as echoed in his own words. And yet, when he attempted to leave the city (Juba), he was intercepted, bait laid using his friends and forcefully brought back to Juba like a common criminal. With all due respect

With all due respect Mr. President, my husband Gen. Paul Malong, deserved better than that. He deserves to be treated with some degree of respect because in my opinion, he has earned it throughout the struggle for South Sudan and as your comrade, I believe you know.

Mr. President, I find myself in this difficult situation where I don’t know what to expect next. As I write this piece, Gen. Paul Malong remains under “unpronounced” house arrest, under unclear and unexplained circumstances. At first, I thought it was just a political misunderstanding that would be resolved in short time. Yet, almost three months later, he remains in custody, without any statement from your office or any other government apparatus/agency. All communication channels with you have been gradually curtailed. The last time I spoke to you

The last time I spoke to you Mr. President, you promised me that my husband would not be harmed, and I took you by your word because I believed that you are a man that stands by your words Mr. President. But I should bring to your attention the fact that my husband is not currently in good health, as I am also sure that you well know. He has been having routine checkups and treatment both in Juba and Nairobi over the time he has been working under your command. Your Excellency, the conditions under which he is being held, the tension surrounding his house arrest, the precariousness of his current situation have all exacerbated his health. As I articulate this, Gen. Paul Malong requires an urgent medical attention, and yet he continues to be confined without access to his doctors, or any other medical personnel. Much as I had your guarantee that he would not be harmed, I must put it to

As I articulate this, Gen. Paul Malong requires an urgent medical attention, and yet he continues to be confined without access to his doctors, or any other medical personnel. Much as I had your guarantee that he would not be harmed, I must put it to you Mr. President that denying Gen. Malong an access to his doctors is in itself as gruesome and harmful as a bullet does. I therefore appeal to your usual humanity and sense of correctness your Excellency, please allow my husband to seek the medical help he urgently needs, because it is the right thing to do to him and the family at the moment. As a wife who has not been so much in the public life that has characterized my husband’s political and military services, I cannot claim to know the political inner workings of J1. All I know is that over the past year or so, your relationship with some of your closest comrades since the struggle (Gen.Malong included) have slowly been eroded. And even if one was to go by what has been circulated in the press in recent months, that your friend and comrade Gen.Malong had a sinister plot to overthrow the government. I can categorically tell

All I know is that over the past year or so, your relationship with some of your closest comrades since the struggle (Gen.Malong included) have slowly been eroded. And even if one was to go by what has been circulated in the press in recent months, that your friend and comrade Gen.Malong had a sinister plot to overthrow the government. I can categorically tell

I can categorically tell you Mr. President, that this is false information meant to down-grade your relationship. My husband (Gen. Malong) is a military man who worked diligently and exemplarily throughout the struggle (closely with you), and even in recent years when the current brutal civil