Women take to streets in Jonglei to protest against Bor governor

January 22, 2015 (MABOR) – Hundreds of women took to the streets in Jongeli state capital Bor, calling on the governor to resign, accusing him of taking sides during the country’s latest conflict.

The women, who hail from the Dinka Bor tribe, complained that John Kong Nyuon had become the downfall of their community in the state.

Eyewitnesses have described the dramatic style the women deployed while staging their peaceful protest on the roadside, wailing in unison as though in grief.

“We are fed up in this place. Nuer [tribe members] killed our children and husbands in this place. Our fellow women died a shameful death here in Bor, all because of [a] senseless war waged by Nuer on us,” Rebecca Dokdit, who was one of the protesters, told Sudan Tribune on Thursday.

Jonglei was a flashpoint for violence after conflict broke out across South Sudan in mid-December 2013 following a dispute in the ruling SPLM party.

The conflict has reignited tribal tensions, pitting government forces loyal to president Salva Kiir, who hails from the Diak tribe, against rebel forces aligned with former vice-president Riek Machar, a Nuer.

Dokdit, sometimes referred to as mama-SPLM, said the Jonglei protest had been triggered by recent being made ahead of planned elections later this year.

She said women would refuse to vote for any government if Nyuon remained in his post.

“We have declared in the letter that we summited today [that] we will not vote for any government unless he (Nyuon) is changed; we will not be part of the process (elections) as women,” she said.

The protest was also sparked by the recent reshuffling of directors and senior staff within the ministry of finance, which Dokdit said was done with the approval of the governor.

As a result some staff were elevated to top positions despite having no relevant qualifications, according to Dokdit, who described the move as an act of corruption.

It’s claimed tat the majority of those who lost seats in the finance ministry reshuffle were of Dinka ethnicity, who were subsequently replaced by staff from other tribes, including Nuer and Anuak.

However, Sudan Tribune was unable to independently verify the claims.

State minister for information Jody Jonglei confirmed on Thursday that he had received the letter from the Bor women’s group calling on the governor to quit his position.

He urged the women to remain calm, saying the governor was currently not in Jonglei.

“Our governor will come tomorrow (Friday). I told them to be calm while waiting for the governor to come and answer some of their complaints,” he said.

The minister declined to comment on whether the issues raised by the women would be addressed prior to the elections, saying only the matters would be handled without difficulty.

(ST)