DUT MAJOKDIT
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The recent visit of Gen. Taban Deng Gai, the Vice President in charge of the infrastructure in Unity State, particularly Rubkona County, concerns some of us. This unannounced and politically motivated trip is the first of its kind since he was sacked by President Salva Kiir in 2013 as the elected Governor of Unity State. His mission appears to be a deliberate attempt to mobilize youth and elders to support individuals who have persistently targeted and bombarded innocent civilians, including women and elderly people, from the Nuer community in particular. I want to caution the people of Unity State not to be misled by Deng, who abandoned them for all these years, even after being appointed the First Vice President in 2016, and later Vice President in 2018.
[Ed: On Saturday. VP Deng, who is visiting Unity State after 12 years, told a public rally that the 2018 peace agreement remains intact despite the house arrest of First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar, asserting that the matter was a legal issue rather than a political one. “The arrest of an individual like Dr. Riek Machar is an issue for the law,” he stated.]
His narrative lacks the truth and integrity to be supported by the Nuer. Let no one scam you that there are friendly and unfriendly counties in the Upper Nile region under the current circumstances. Mayom County was designated as friendly according to the remarks by Dr. Martin Elia Lomouro [aka the UK proven scientist], but unfortunately, the county was bombed, and many people lost their lives.
Vice President Deng wants you to support the same people who are responsible for your continued suffering. This is a selfish campaign to reassert himself as a Nuer kingpin in Juba and retire Dr. Machar at the expense of Nuer dignity and lives. Gen. Taban Deng Gai’s statement that Dr. Machar is in conflict with the law is a blatant falsehood. Dr. Machar’s house arrest by President Kiir was politically driven, not legally justified. It is a calculated Political move to silence and retire him from active politics amid political succession tensions within the SPLM Party of Kiir.
Painting Dr. Machar as the root of national disunity is a propaganda tactic that must be rejected by the people of South Sudan, and the inhabitants of Unity State in particular. I urge the people of Unity State to stand firmly behind the First Vice President Dr. Machar, and reject the politics of division that serve the narrow interests of a few. The arrest of my chairman lacks any legal basis and represents an outdated and dangerous theory to prolong the current barbaric status quo by scapegoating Dr. Machar.
I commend the Paramount Chief of Rubkona County for courageously speaking truth to Gen. Taban Deng Gai and reminding him, and by extension, President Salva Kiir, that the presidency is a national office for all tribes, not a tool for tribal politics. I urge the citizens of Unity State, and the Nuer Community in particular, to remain vigilant and disregard Gen. Deng’s campaign of division. Do not fall victim to the ongoing war being imposed on you and the people of South Sudan since 2013. The government classification of friendly and unfriendly counties inhabited by the Nuer ethnic group is a clear sign of the divisive and targeted politics being promoted by the current status quo. President Kiir should release First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar to resume dialogue and de-escalate tensions in the country. South Sudanese are tired of war and need peace and unity now, and an end to the tribal and ethnic politics in our land.
Source: Radio Tamazuj
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