South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Staff writer
A group of 7 members of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) has dismissed claims of disowning Vice president, Hussein Abdelbagi Akol, as representative of SSOA in the Presidency
SSOA issued a statement disowning an earlier statement issued on 18th December 2024 by some SSOA leaders’ purporting to dismiss Abdelbagi from the coalition group that brings together several opposition parties.
It said that SSOA leadership does not have authority to disown Abdelbagi, because they disagreed to nominate one candidate for the position of the Vice-Presidency in 2020, adding that President Salva Kiir was authorized by SSOA leadership at the time to appoint any of the candidates who presented themselves as nominees for the position of Vice-Presidency.
Kiir picked Abdelbagi as one of his Vice-Presidents in a transparent manner among the SSOA nominees forwarded to him.
“H.E. the VP was delegated in a meeting of the SSOA leadership after his appointment (20 Feb 2020 in Hai Thora, Freedom Group Apartments) to be the channel of communication between the Presidency and SSOA constituent parties, Hon. Josephine Joseph Lagu, and Hon. Denay Jok Chagor, were tasked to arrange a unity meeting which they failed to achieve. However, Hon. Lagu was never elected as a Chairperson of SSOA in the first Place,” said the statement.
It added that Lagu who is the National Minister of Agriculture and Food Security in the transitional unity government to claim the position of Chairperson of SSOA is violates Article 10 (7) of the SSOA Charter and regulation 6, sub regulation two which stipulates that the leadership council shall elect from its members a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary General and Coordinator for the period of a non-renewable period of 6 months.
“Further, there was no any leadership meeting at any level that was conducted recently so as to make such a decision. The authors decided to sit alone and decide alone without consultations and consensus which is contrary to the Charter and we encourage all the SSOA constituent parties to adhere to provisions of the SSOA Charter,” it said.
It said that there are already more problems in the country, adding that such power struggles within the opposition coalition are irresponsible and undermine the implementation of the Reviatlized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (RARCSS).
