Dispute roils Eastern Equatoria legislature while governor is in Juba

By Isaac Vuni

February 12, 2009 (JUBA) — As the governor of Eastern Equatoria presented a comprehensive report on insecurity to the South Sudan legislature Wednesday, the Speaker of the Eastern Equatoria State Legislative Assembly, Sabina Darios Lokolong, threatened to lift the immunity of several MPs of the state parliament.

Lokolong summoned Hon. Alma Thomas and Hon. Lous Lobong to appear before a court for allegedly obstructing the speaker from entering the parliament hall after state legislators had accused the Speaker and her relatives of financial malpractices, according to a source speaking by phone from Torit.

Meanwhile, Governor Alosio Emor Ojetuk was in Juba at the summons of the regional parliament. Continuing the legislature’s focus on insecurity, 73 out of 92 MPs voted to refer the matter to a specialized committee to prepare motions to be approved by the House before being passed to a councilor of minister for implementation.

DEBATE ON SECURITY MEASURES

Among the legislators who contributed was Hon. Achol Marial, who discussed an SPLA disarmament exercise in Jonglei state in which allegedly between 400 and 800 civilians were lost, according to Marial. Violent resistance to the effort in part stemmed from concerns that communities were not being disarmed simultaneously, particularly the Murle, prompting Marial to call for simultaneous disarmament in all ten states of the South.

He accused Hon. Ismail Konyi, a Murle chief, of being behind abduction of children from Bor, Eastern and Central Equatoria states. Otherwise, he warned that the Equatoria states and Jonglei have the right to open a case against Konyi at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

Marial added that Ambororo present in Western Equatoria should be taken as a serious security threat by Government of South Sudan (GoSS) as they are heavily equipped and armed ready to destabilize the south.

Hon. Richard Mulla said the summoned governors deserve more power to maintain security, but their performance, including management of money released for security purposes, must be evaluated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which received about 367 million Sudanese pounds.

Hon. Maker Ngor said that the many bars operating in Juba are sources of insecurity as people are being killed or eliminated. Yet the governor of Eastern Equatoria and security organs are adamantly declining to arrest practitioners, lamented Ngor, who demanded therefore that bars be immediately demolished.

Hon. Elizabeth Poni noted that the passed resolution seems to be specifically for the Bari people who are being attacked and looted by Mundari, while Governor of Central Equatoria state, Clement Wani Konga, said Bari community had been disarmed in exchange of cash money.

Hon. Nartisio Loluke Manir advised the governor not to use force on fellow southerners during efforts to repatriate displaced people to their original homes. He went on saying that the poor relationship between the executive and legislators is causing insecurity and appealed to the Minister of Internal Affairs to urgently redress the issues

Hon. Wanji expressed appreciation for engagement of constructive dialogue on the security situation of the South. Particularly, he noted, governors of Jonglei, Eastern and Western Equatoria knew what they were doing but are incapacitated by lack of resources.

The Minister of Interior, Paul Mayom Akech, appealed Wednesday to the SPLA Affairs Minister for more support in discharging his daily duty. He declared that SPLA should concentrate on developing officers in specialized fields. He proposed that Zonal mobile forces need to be introduced in the states and it is the duty of parliament to support this measure.

The SPLA representative in parliament, Col. Anai, said they had conducted research last year and found many people holding double uniforms even though they are not SPLA. Anai blamed the national security services for this.

SPLM DEPUTY SG ENDORSES BOOK ON LIBERATION STRUGGLE

In a separate development, the SPLM Deputy Secretary General for Southern Sector, Anne Itto, launched a book on the South Sudan liberation struggle written by Elijah Malong Aleng, who has officially retired from politics. Itto urged southerners to critically read their history of the liberation struggle documented by an insider.

There were many curious young southerners who attended the event at Samani Hall of Juba University, where Itto pledged to purchase five copies for each of the ten states of South Sudan. In addition, the deputy governor of Central Equatoria directed the state minister of education to introduce the book for teaching to students at all levels so that they are updated on their history of liberation.

The book is sold at 50 Sudanese pounds per copy, equivalent to $20, and it is sold at Apaya bookshops in Juba and other state books shops. It is also available in Kenyan books shops.

(ST)