South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Awan Achiek
At least 12 prominent members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO), led by First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar, defected to President Salva Kiir’s SPLM party in Juba on Tuesday.
The senior members who defected from the SPLM-IO to the ruling SPLM party are prominent figures from Awerial County in Lakes State.
This group includes Mayom Geng Kejo, the SPLM-IO Chairman of Awerial County; Abraham Ngong Apiu, the SPLM-IO Youth Chairman; and several members of the Liberation Council.
The move came after the SPLM-IO splinter group, led by Stephen Par Kuol, Minister of Peacebuilding, formed interim leadership to steer the largest opposition party in the absence of Machar, who is currently under house arrest in Juba.
Hon. Albino Ariik Reech, the Deputy Chairman of Information for the Lakes State Parliament and a leading figure among the defectors, announced that he and 12 other senior party members have defected to the SPLM.
“I, Albino Ariik Reech, have the pleasure of tendering our membership resignation from the SPLM-IO under Dr. Riek Machar Teny, PhD’s leadership, after making a thorough decision to resign and join the SPLM party under the leadership of Comrade Chairman H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit, the President of the Republic of South Sudan,” Ariik said in a resignation letter extended to the Dawn on Tuesday.
Ariik cited a lack of direction, vision, and mission from the SPLM-IO leadership.
“The following reasons prompted me to resign from the SPLM-IO due to a lack of clear vision and mission for the national agenda and the recurrent escalation of violations as a norm for achieving personal objectives,” he said.
He also accused Machar of nepotism, arguing that all top party positions are filled by his close family members.
“The allocation of ministerial positions across the regions of Equatoria, Bahr el Ghazal, and Upper Nile shows that Equatorians are not given lucrative positions like the Ministry of Petroleum,” he said.
He criticised the chairman of the SPLM-IO for failing to persuade rebel leader Gen. Thomas Cirillo to sign the 2018 peace agreement.
“In the 2018 peace deal, Gen. Thomas Cirillo Saka was part of the peace process, but the Western world didn’t allow him to sign the 2018 peace agreement because the deal was not in the best interest of the Western world.”
He expressed gratitude for the experience, guidance, and support provided by the party’s chairman, Dr. Riek Machar, over the past nine years.
