Pilots held for R2.4m ransom

JUBA: South Sudanese rebels are holding two Kenyan pilots and will not release them until compensation is paid to the family of a civilian killed when their plane crashed, a rebel spokesperson said yesterday.

The plane crashed in Akobo, in the Greater Upper Nile region, two weeks ago, Lam Paul Gabriel, the rebels’ deputy spokesperson, said.

He said a woman and some animals were killed during the crash.

“The relatives of the lady and the owners of the cows are complaining they want compensation,” he said.

“They (Kenyan leaders) have to write an official letter to Dr Riek Machar and it will come to us to inform of an order, then we will release him.”

Machar, the country’s former vice-president, is the head of the largest rebel faction but has been held under house arrest in South Africa since 2016.

South Sudan’s military spokesperson confirmed the two pilots were being held.

“The plane had a technical problem. It crash-landed and killed a person on the ground,” said BrigadierGeneral Lul Ruai Koang.

“The (rebel) SPLA-IO-appointed governor of the area has demanded a ransom of $200 000 (R2.4 million) which is beyond normal compensation for any person killed,” he added.

The Kenyan Foreign Ministry said it was unable to comment.

Oil-rich South Sudan has been riven by civil war since 2013. The conflict has displaced a third of the population and wrecked the economy. – Reuters