SPLM-youth league in Uganda disown group of defectors
October 2, 2016 (KAMPALA) – Members of South Sudan’s armed opposition (SPLM-IO) youth league allied to the country’s former vice president, Riek Machar in Uganda have disowned a group that recently abandoned the faction led by the latter.
“[The] SPLM-IO youth league would like to inform you that the group who are using fake and ghost names are government supporters of Salva Kiir who want to create confusion in Uganda the way their tribal government created confusion in South Sudan,” he told Sudan Tribune from Kampala, Uganda.
According to the official, over 50,000 members currently make up the armed opposition youth league in Uganda, further stressing that those who declared allegiance to South Sudan’s newly appointed first vice president were “fake”.
He said the entire youth league association still stood firm in support of Machar.
“We are warning the group of opportunists who are using the name of SPLM-IO for their own benefit [that] this is a great party with a great vision and many have died and sacrificed their lives to defend the name and dignity of this party,” said Obac.
The youth league secretary for information, Gai Bona, also described the defectors as self-seeking individuals who acted mainly for personal benefits.
“This is the time to say no to the corrupted and tribal regime of Salva Kiir whose motive is to spoil the generation from their welfare. We call on youth across the different continent that we have to liberate ourselves from power and corrupted system,” said Bona.
Machar fled the country in July after his forces clashed with those loyal to President Kiir, leaving over 200 soldiers dead in the national capital, Juba. He vowed never to return to Juba unless an intervention force, approved by the African Union, are deployed in the capital to restore stability.
(ST)