Another faction from the Lou Nuer community has disowned a statement issued by a separate group on Sunday evening, where the latter announced a walkout from the SPLM-IO citing mistreatments by its leadership.
Led by the representative Lt. Col. Puok Nyang Deng, the group lashed at their colleagues telling them to stop dragging the whole community in their woes. They challenged the ‘self-proclaimed chiefs’ and private soldiers to borrow a leaf from the biblical soldiers who betrayed Jesus Christ as a person but never dragged the whole Jewish community into the mess.
‘‘Members of Lou Nuer in SPLM/A-IO under visionary and wise leadership of Dr. Riek Machar, Chairman and Commander in Chief of SPLM/A-IO, strongly condemns in strongest terms possible the use of Lou Nuer Community name in the press release defection in Juba today by discontented and disgruntle individual members,’’ they note in a statement, sent to news rooms on Monday.
Discontent
They accused the former commissioner of Akobo East County, Bieh State, Jamuth Yuot Dak, of misleading others after losing his seat due to underperformance.
‘‘Jamuth defected today simply because he lost his seat some weeks back when community were not happy with how he managed resources and security of Akobo County for the last three years and that is why he lost hope in the people’s movement, declared his misconceiving and misleading defection along with self-claimed chiefs and private soldiers,’’ the statement reads on part.
They affirmed their commitment to the SPLM-IO saying they serve in the movement for a cause and that they will stay put until they achieve their objectives.
They said, ‘‘We want to assure Lou Nuer Community and SPLM/A-IO supporters in South Sudan and around the world that Lou Nuer members in SPLM/A-IO are 100 per cent committed to the SPLM/A-IO until freedom, accountability, justice, equality and prosperous South Sudan is achieved.’’
The former commissioner headed a group of 15 individuals in protest against the leadership of First Vice President Dr Machar in the SPLM-IO. The group tabled accusations against Dr Machar, most of which they claimed that he had used and dumped the members of the Lou Nuer community.
Disgruntled and in rage, the group vowed to call for another meeting to discuss their next move.
‘‘Based on the above accounts of our sad realities, suffering, humiliation, exploitation within the SPLM-IO, we, the undersigned senior officials, army officers, white army leaders, chiefs, women and youth leaders would like to make it clear from today that we have sat, analysed the current situation and agreed to break away from SPLM-IO of Dr. Riek Machar,’’ they said in their statement.
The First Vice President is having a lot of political issues at his plate to deal with of late. Most of them are related to discontent and disharmony in the camps. For example, over the weekend, the government appointed Budhok Ayang Kur as the governor of Upper Nile State after months of push and pull. This is likely to evoke the spirit of disharmony given that the Gen. Johnson Olony had been touted for the job for long.