N. Bahr el Ghazal governor mobbed by Juba crowd
January 9, 2014 (JUBA) – The caretaker governor of South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, Kuel Aguer Kuel was unusually welcomed to the capital by senior members of the ruling party amid reports of differences with his predecessor, Paul Malong Awan.
The governor is reportedly in Juba to brief president Salva Kiir on the political situation in the state following his decision to remove and replace some members of the party.
Kuel, who was appointed governor when Awan was appointed South Sudan army chief of staff appointed a new cabinet last year, sideling his predecessor’s loyalists.
According to an observer, the high-level reception for Governor Kuel in Juba was meant to signal political unity amid concerns about divisions in the stronghold state.
Ajou Deng, a member of the ruling party from Aweil East County, said the reception given to Kuel is a repudiation of those who think they wield unchallengeable power.
“It was an unprecedented reception… It was a political reception to send a warning signal to those who have a false conviction that without them, there can never be Mading Aweil, which is a false belief because there were people before they came into the leadership position in Aweil and they never behaved the way of our so-called leaders are behaving.”
“They behave like children instead of working together. Public positions are never permanent and some people should understand that public positions are for public services. They are not meant to show power or made an opportunity to settle personal differences with some people,” said Deng.
“It is really confusing that those who supported the appointment of governor Kuel Aguer Kuel are the very people who are now working for his removal in less than a year. What mistake can they say has been made by their friend in such a short period of time?”
(ST)