Civil society group reiterate calls for Kiir, Machar to leave power

June 5, 2024 (JUBA) – A coalition of South Sudan’s civil society organizations has reiterated earlier calls for President Salva Kiir and the country’s First Vice President Riek Machar to relinquish power.

Founded in 2021, the People’s Coalition for Civic Action (PCCA) advocates for reforms in the institutions of government to meet the expectations of the masses.

Abraham Awolich, one of the founding members of PCCA, said Kiir and Machar should prepare for their exit and they should not contest in the general elections.

He insisted that it is the only way the country would be allowed to move forward.

“The PCCA is for real reforms, not cosmetic theatrics that we have seen over the last decade. If the government is unwilling to take these proposals seriously, we are not in a hurry to sign another fake agreement”, Awolic wrote in a statement.

The civil society group called for the dissolution of the National Security Service (NSS), which is said should be reconstituted as the National Intelligence Service.

According to PCCA, the current service has been institutionalized as an agency for oppressing South Sudanese, thus undermining their liberties and freedoms.

It further claimed security agents have taken the job of the police and the military.

“The time has come to reconsider the idea of presidential. This idea does not work in a democracy. It is designed for authoritarian regimes. The tiger division must go back to the mother unit and a new independent agency, under the Ministry of Interior should be established to protect very important persons (VIPS)”, it noted.

The statement was issued on June 4, 2024 after the former governor of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, Kuel Aguer Kuel landed in Kenya for the mediation talks on South Sudan.

Kuel, the head of the PCCA, was arrested and detained in July 2021 on treason charges after calls for a popular uprising. He was released in December 2022 and thus participating in the Nairobi peace talks as leader of the civil rights movement.

(ST)