A month after William Endley was sentenced to death, his family are hoping an appeal will save him from the gallows.
The ex-South African National Defence Force (SANDF) colonel was sentenced to hang in a South Sudanese court on February 23.
He was charged with espionage and conspiring to overthrow the government.
But in the days following his sentencing, Endley has filed an appeal.
The appeal, according to Charmaine Quinn, Endley’s sister, means that the South Sudanese courts can’t set an execution date.
Endley was also sentenced to nine years in jail. “The appeal deals with the fact that he had an unfair trial, that there was no formal evidence and that he should have been released according to the December Peace Accord,” explains Quinn, who lives in Cape Town.
During his trial, none of his defence witnesses appeared in court. But following his court appearance, Endley’s prison conditions have improved. He has now been moved to the Juba Central Prison.
He was previously held in the notorious headquarters of the South Sudanese National Security Service, which is known as the Blue House.
“He is allowed more phone calls now,” says Quinn. “He is positive but I can hear that it is taking its toll on him.”
Endley’s family have also written letters to President Cyril Ramaphosa and Lindiwe Sisulu, the minister who heads the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco).
“We’re just hoping and praying that we get some light at the end of the tunnel,” says Quinn.
The family are also hoping that Dirco is trying to secure his release through behind-the-scenes negotiations, though they are not aware of these.
Dirco did not respond to the Saturday Star this week.
Quinn explained that it is now easier for embassy staff to visit her brother, now that he is in the Juba Central Prison. The family are also able to send him R2000 a month, for food and medicines.
“What does concern me is that he is kept in chains.”
Endley became a defence contractor after he left the SANDF and was hired by former rebel leader Riek Machar as an adviser.
He was tasked with helping integrate the rebel forces into the national army, in accordance with a peace agreement.
But this agreement fell apart in July 2016 when heavy fighting broke out in the capital. Machar fled and is now under house arrest in South Africa, while Endley was arrested.
Jakkie Cilliers, the head of African Futures & Innovation at the Institute for Security Studies, says now that Endley has been formally charged it's easier for the South African government to act.
“This is where Dirco becomes the key player and would be engaging to see, firstly, if there is a basis to engage, but it also becomes a Department of Justice issue,” he says.
The government has a good relationship with the South Sudanese, he adds.
But while political forces may be at work, Quinn has drawn strength from her brother’s sense of humour.
“The other day he phoned and he called himself the dead man talking, not the Dead Man Walking, as in the movie.”