Jonglei State, South Sudan
August 15, 2022 —— Two law makers of the Jonglei State Legislative Assembly have rejected the suspension order of their membership in the assembly by State Governor Denay Jock Chagor, termed it a political witch-hunt.
On Thursday, Governor Denay, who doubles as Chairman of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) in the state, suspended Anter Bayak and Gabriel Gatluak.
The two MPs, Gatluak and Bayak, who are also members of the alliance chaired by Denay, are standing their ground, saying they will continue to discharge their duties despite the suspension order from the governor.
Hon. Gatluak, who represents Ayod County, rejects his suspension on the ground that Denay is from SSUM and he is from FPDs, and as such he believes Denay has no legal rights to suspend him.
“Denay is from SSUM, and I am from FPDs. The governor’s decision on my dismissal is unlawful and is related to the impeachment of the finance minister. As MPs, we are defending the state constitution and citizen rights.” Gatluak said in a statement obtained by Nyamilepdia.
Anter Bayak, another suspended MP, said he would not succumb to the orders because he thinks the suspension was not lawful and that the governor does have the right to suspend him through a decree.
Meanwhile, Ter Manyang, a civil society activist and the Executive Director of the Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA), appealed to Governor Denay to reconsider the suspension, saying the country’s constitution grants MPs rights to oversee the executive.
“I believe the governor was unhappy because these two MPs raised a motion to remove the state finance minister and the assembly’s information committee chairperson. The peace agreement does not allow the governor to suspend these MPs because they are not from his party,” he said. “He could have written to the head of the FDP party who has authority over the MPs.”he Manyang added.
For her part, Grace Mathot, the acting assembly’s spokesperson, said they learnt about the suspension of the MPs throuigh the media. “We heard the decree being read out on Radio Jonglei. As the assembly, we are still waiting to be officially informed.”
Hon. Denay has been in constant battle with senior members of his administration including his former deputy governor, Antipas Nyok, who lost his seat over the same issues.
