KAMPALA – Ugandan security agents have seized a collection of personal archives belonging to Dr. John Garang De Mabior, the late Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) leader, and arrested two individuals in the attempted shipment out of the country.
The documents were about to be transported outside Uganda through Entebbe International Airport by German and Ugandan nationals, Daily Monitor reports.
The documents were intercepted on August 29 as they were destined for the Thabo Mbeki Foundation in South Africa, according to police and security sources. The foundation, started by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, aims to preserve African heritage and foster dialogue.
Following the seizure, security personnel traced the documents to a residence in the Muyenga area of Kampala. There, they arrested a British-German national and a Ugandan citizen.
The security team searched the home and confiscated electronic devices, including mobile phones and laptops. The passport of the British-German national was also seized.
The two individuals were detained overnight at a security facility before being released after they declined to record statements without their lawyers present, according to Monitor.
Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman Patrick Onyango confirmed the seizure and arrests.
“It is true. The documents were seized at Entebbe International Airport by security personnel, as they were destined for South Africa,” Onyango said.
“They established that they originated from Munyenga, so they visited the place. Kabalala Police Station has opened a general inquiry file to establish how a German national came into the possession of those documents.”
The documents, the suspects said, had been in possession of Garang’s son, Mabior Garang, who then entrusted them to a friend in Uganda when he left for South Sudan peace negotiations in Addis Ababa.