South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Awan Achiek
The Federal Democratic Party (FDP) led by the Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology, Gabriel Changson Chang on Sunday disowned a group led by Gen. Gathoth Gatkuoth who recently declared himself the legitimate leader of the party.
Gen. Gatkuoth on Saturday appeared to depose Gabriel Changson Chang from the chairmanship of the opposition party, which is a member of the transitional unity government.
Changkuoth Bichiock Reth, Secretary General of FDP, said the faction led by Gen. Gatkuoth is illegal and does not have the rights to claim ownership of the party.
“As the leadership of the party noticed with a great concern that a group of dismissed and defected officers, those of Gen. Gatkuoth, from the rank and file of the FDP movement were still using the name of FDP organization while they were no longer members of the party,” Bichiock told journalists at a press conference held at FDP headquarters in Juba on Sunday.
Bichiock said the party dismissed Gen. Gatkuoth on 4th January 2016 together with his delegation after joining the government.
“They left the party, they cannot come and still use the name of the party,” he said
In July 2016, Gen. Gatkuoth and his members joined the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in opposition (SPLM-IO) under General Taban Deng Gai, and they were appointed to various positions within the transitional unity government on the SPLM-IO ticket.
Bichiock said Gen. Gatkuoth was appointed as the National Minister of Public Service and Human Resources in the national government.
He said that it’s double standards for someone who had served in various positions with the SPLM-IO led by Vice President Taban Deng and SPLM to turn around and claim the chairmanship of the party he was dismissed from 9 years ago.
Gatkuoth and Changson were original members of the Federal Democratic Party/South Sudan Armed Forces (FDP-SSAF) established in August 2015.
However, after the peace agreement collapsed in 2016, Changson fled the country and formed his own version of the party in Addis Ababa, which is currently under the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA).
