Mabior Garang de Mabior, eldest son of the late SPLA leader Dr. John Garang, has defended efforts to transfer his father’s archives abroad after Ugandan authorities seized the documents and arrested two associates at Entebbe International Airport.
The papers were headed to the Thabo Mbeki Foundation for safekeeping when they were intercepted in late August. Two suspects, including a British-German national, were briefly detained before release. Their electronic devices remain in security custody.
Mabior told Radio Tamazuj that Uganda’s own security forces handed him the archives in 2013 after his father’s death. He explained that the transfer to South Africa was a temporary measure to protect the records until the Dr. John Garang Foundation in Juba is established with President Kiir’s endorsement.
“These are historical materials—my father’s diaries, SPLA messages, and battle reports,” he said. “I don’t understand why Uganda is turning this into a security issue when they themselves first had these documents.”
Ugandan police confirmed that investigations are ongoing to determine possible criminal activity.
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