Aweil West commissioner denies plot to kill MP

January 19, 2012 (JUBA) – Local authorities from Aweil West county, Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, on Thursday dismissed reports claiming that government agents, allegedly acting on the orders of the county commissioner, attempted to kill a member of parliament.

Jacob Dau Kuol, a member of the National Legislative Assembly representing Aweil West county’s constituency, claimed that he escaped an assassination attempt purportedly carried out by gunmen acting on the directives of the county commissioner, Isaac Lual Chol.

There has been recent disquiet in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state government over allegations of arbitrary, politically motivated arrests.

Kuol attributed the friction between him and the commissioner to a dispute over a community car and constituency development funds.

In an interview with reporters at the South Sudan Legislative Assembly on Thursday, Kuol claimed he was certain that the plot to kill him was orchestrated by Chol and his “associates”.

Kuol said he was in his area to supervise developmental projects when the commissioner attempted to have him killed. He claimed that commissioner had previously threatened him and other members of parliament.

Chol, in a separate interview with Sudan Tribune from Nyamelel, the administrative headquarters of the county, said he was “surprised” by the media reports.

Chol said “We were together here before he returned to Juba and there was no problem. Why would I kill a fellow human being?” Chol said that he lost a limb fighting for South Sudan and would not kill a countryman.

He denied holding any personal grudges with officials in the area and described the allegations as “mere political concoctions”.

Regarding the issue of car cited by Kuol, Chol said committee members wanted it to be used for constituency development projects but the Member of Parliament wanted it to be used for other purposes. This “generated a lot of commotions” and the case was taken to the police.

(ST)