{"id":91700,"date":"2026-04-10T11:45:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T11:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/bol-mel-lawyers-reject-makuei-apology-demand"},"modified":"2026-04-10T11:52:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T11:52:59","slug":"bol-mel-lawyers-reject-makuei-apology-demand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/bol-mel-lawyers-reject-makuei-apology-demand","title":{"rendered":"Bol Mel Lawyers Reject Makuei Apology Demand"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; South-Sudan. <\/strong><\/span>Lawyers representing former Vice President Dr Benjamin Bol Mel have rejected a demand by South Sudan\u2019s Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Michael Makuei Lueth, to issue an apology over the tone of a petition seeking their client\u2019s release, warning that the directive could trigger legal consequences.<\/p>\n<p>In a strongly worded response dated March 2026, Kiirdit &amp; Co. Advocates faulted the minister\u2019s position, saying it lacks legal basis and undermines due process.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are surprised that you have not cited any legal authority or made any reference to enabling legal provision in the statute or constitution,\u201d the lawyers wrote, adding that the omission raises \u201ca serious legal issue whether or not your decision was based on law.\u201d They warned that the decision could be viewed as \u201cnot only irrational but also illegal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The dispute stems from a criminal motion filed on March 6, 2026, seeking the release of Dr Bol Mel, who has reportedly been detained since November 2025 amid concerns about his deteriorating health.<\/p>\n<p>Makuei had earlier described the language used in the petition as disrespectful and demanded a written apology and explanation before the ministry could consider the matter.<\/p>\n<p>However, the legal team dismissed the claim, insisting that their wording was appropriate. \u201cAddressing you as \u2018this Honourable Minister advises\u2019 has never been an impolite or disrespectful expression in law and fact,\u201d they said, citing constitutional provisions that require authorities to prioritise substantive justice over technicalities.<\/p>\n<p>On the issue of media coverage, the lawyers denied leaking the document, stating that publishers \u201cconfessed to have obtained the motion through \u2018leak\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They maintained that informing the public is lawful, noting that \u201cit was still permissible to us as a right to immediately call a press conference&#8230; under article 24&#8230; that guarantees freedom of expression.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The lawyers also challenged the legality of Bol Mel\u2019s continued detention, arguing that \u201cany detention that exceeds 24 hours, without judicial process, becomes \u2018unconstitutional or unlawful detention\u2019 and does not deserve any legal protection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rejecting the demand for an apology, the legal team argued that they are only answerable to the South Sudan Bar Association on matters of professional conduct. They described the minister\u2019s directive as \u201cbarred by the doctrine of ULTRA VIRES (beyond the powers),\u201d stressing that any allegations of misconduct should be handled through the Bar Council.<\/p>\n<p>Crucially, the lawyers warned that conditioning consideration of their petition on an apology is unconstitutional and could expose the government to legal action.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour demand for written explanation and apology as a condition to consider the applicant\u2019s motion&#8230; is unconstitutional and unlawful,\u201d they wrote, adding that their intervention was also aimed at \u201cprevent[ing] the government from losing colossal sums of money in damages\u201d if the detention is successfully challenged in court, citing the case of unlawful closure of telecom company Vivacell, which sued the government for over $80,000,000 in losses.<\/p>\n<p>The legal team further criticised the minister\u2019s decision to copy the Chief Justice in his response, saying it risks interfering with judicial independence and could prejudice their client\u2019s right to a fair trial.<\/p>\n<p>They concluded that they have \u201cnever done anything wrong that warrants our apology,\u201d emphasising that their actions are grounded in law and intended to secure due process for their client.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">South-Sudan<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; South-Sudan. Lawyers representing former Vice President Dr Benjamin Bol Mel have rejected a demand by South Sudan\u2019s Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Michael Makuei Lueth, to issue an apology over the tone of a petition seeking their client\u2019s release, warning that the directive could trigger legal consequences. In a strongly worded response [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":91698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,12],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-91700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-policy","tag-south-sudan"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Bol Mel Lawyers Reject Makuei Apology Demand - South Sudan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Lawyers representing former Vice President Dr Benjamin Bol Mel have rejected a demand by South Sudan\u2019s Minister of Justi ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/bol-mel-lawyers-reject-makuei-apology-demand\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bol Mel Lawyers Reject Makuei Apology Demand\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lawyers representing former Vice President Dr Benjamin Bol Mel have rejected a demand by South Sudan\u2019s Minister of Justi ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/bol-mel-lawyers-reject-makuei-apology-demand\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Sudan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-10T11:45:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-10T11:52:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2026\/04\/sm_1775809332.249704.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"810\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/bol-mel-lawyers-reject-makuei-apology-demand#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/bol-mel-lawyers-reject-makuei-apology-demand\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Bol Mel Lawyers Reject Makuei Apology Demand\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-10T11:45:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-10T11:52:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/bol-mel-lawyers-reject-makuei-apology-demand\"},\"wordCount\":556,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/bol-mel-lawyers-reject-makuei-apology-demand#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/sites\/32\/2026\/04\/sm_1775809332.249704.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Sudan\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/bol-mel-lawyers-reject-makuei-apology-demand#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/bol-mel-lawyers-reject-makuei-apology-demand\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-sudan\/all-news\/bol-mel-lawyers-reject-makuei-apology-demand\",\"name\":\"Bol Mel Lawyers Reject Makuei Apology Demand - 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