Warrap governor sacks town mayor after political spat

July 29, 2015 (JUBA) – The governor of South Sudan’s Warrap state, Nyandeng Malek has sacked the Kuacjok town mayor, ending weeks of a social media campaign by youth who instead wanted the deputy mayor, Joseph Anei Madoor elevated to the top post.

Both Madoor and Ajiek were dropped from his position and not given any assignment.

This comes after the deputy mayor with sections of youth leaders allied to the finance and information ministers in the state government launched a sustained campaign seeking removal of the mayor, accusing him of allegedly backing Nyandeng’s critics.

The group further claimed that the former mayor of Kuajok was behind an alleged failed attempt by one of his bodyguards to hit some of the youth leaders, including head of Warrap youth Union, Benjamin Bhang Bang and his deputy, Clement Deng Yor.

Yor, exclusively told Sudan Tribune last week that he survived together with his chairperson an attempt on their lives by one of the former mayor’s bodyguards.

But Ajiek, in a separate interview with Sudan Tribune, dismissed the allegation as “illusive”, denying his alleged involvement in political schemes aimed at causing harm.

“Those reports are illusive. I am not involved. I was not at the scene of the alleged incident but what I have been told is that these people were actually the ones who nearly caused the accident. They were coming onto the main road and the guard was on the main road. So, in traffic law, he was right to use the road which these guys did not know”, he said Monday.

Ajiek said he learned through social media the accusations attributed to his former deputy, adding, “These allegations are not true and I don’t know why he is doing that”.

(ST)