South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
The Nuer Leadership Peace Forum has called for the resignation of Cabinet Affairs Minister Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro, following accusations that he categorized the Nuer ethnic group into factions deemed either hostile or friendly to the government.
Gen. James Hoth Mai, chairman of the Nuer Leadership Peace Forum and Minister of Labor, stated that such divisions within the Nuer community could jeopardize ongoing peace efforts in the country.
“The executive leadership of the Nuer Leadership Peace Forum demands that Martin Elia Lomuro, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, immediately resign from his positions. We humbly appeal to His Excellency the President of the Republic of South Sudan to relieve him of his government portfolio in order to give peace a chance,” said Mai during a press conference in Juba on Tuesday.
Mai expressed that the Nuer Leadership Peace Forum and the entire community are deeply concerned about the deteriorating security situation in South Sudan, particularly in areas such as Morobo in Central Equatoria state, Tambura in Western Equatoria state, and the fighting in Nasir and Ulang in Upper Nile.
“We are calling upon all South Sudanese communities to unite for peaceful coexistence and to refrain from listening to elements whose agenda is to incite communities against one another in advocating for genocide,” he said.
The controversy arose from a press conference held on Saturday in response to the Nasir incident, where Cabinet Affairs Minister Lomuro and Minister of Information, Communication, Technology, and Postal Services Michael Makuei Lueth were present.
The statement presented counties such as Nasir and Ulang in Upper Nile, Akobo, Nyirol, Uror, and Fangak, Ayod in Jonglei, as “hostile.”
Meanwhile, Panyijiar, Guit, Leer, Mayendit, Koch, and Mayom in Unity state, as well as Maiwut and Longechuk in Upper Nile, were labeled as “friendly.”
