Juba, South Sudan
August 5, 2021 — South Sudan’s Former Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Cpt. Mabior Garang De Mabior, believes that the SPLM/A-IO owes an apology to President Salva Kiir Mayardit and Vice President for infrastructure cluster, Gen. Taban Deng Gai for 2016 activities that led to a bloody dogfight.
According to Mabior, the 2015-16 peace agreement was an ideal “surrendering” peace pack that should have been guarded if the SPLM/A-IO leadership behaved well like they are currently doing in Juba and for such, he regrets and sees it appropriate for the leadership of SPLM/A-IO to apologize to both Kiir and Taban.
“We joke about this of course but it is not funny, we owe President Kiir and Taban Deng Gai, one of the vice presidents an apology. We owe Taban an apology because in 2016 he tried and negotiated for us a proper surrendering deal but for one reason or another we all disagreed with Taban and consequently the fight of J1 followed which is known by everyone ” Mabior Garang said
Mabior, who has been serving as the spokesman for the main opposition group SPLM-IO under the First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny for years, was appointed in March last year as Deputy Minister of Interior following the formation of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R_TGoNU) but he declined to take oath of office in Juba and resigned six months later citing intransigency of the peace partners in the unity government to translate the agreement into reality.
In an inclusive interview with one of the South Sudanese local journalists, Garang when asked whether or not he owes an apology to the leadership of President Kiir, he admits that he owes an apology to both Kiir and Taban.
Garang is also disappointed that the SPLM/A-IO, which claims to be a better alternative to Salva Kiir’s regrime, is currently copy-pasting and practicing the deadly strategies they resisted and try to fix with their own blood.
” On December 6, 2013, we accused the regime with many of the things which we are doing today as a movement”, he added.
Joining the peace agreement Vs. Joining SPLM/A-IO
When asked if he joined the SPLM/A-IO in 2014, Mabior denied joining the SPLM-IO, arguing that he joined the peace talks to seek peace instead and not the other way around.
In fact he believes that the (IO) has no ideological meaning or a political ideology.
” SPLM_IO has no ideological meaning, you know, it is the SPLM which is the ideological part of the name, (IO) it means nothing, it was mediators that came up with it”, he further added.
Garang stressed that the name SPLM-IO was suggested by peace mediator in the Ethiopian Capital, Addis Ababa in order to distinguish the two waring parties on the negotiating table but instead the party was hijacked by self-interest groups who are seeking their personal interests and not the public interest.
“That’s why we say we never joined an entity called SPLM-IO, but we joined the peace talk, we go and look for peace but some interest groups within what we called SPLM-IO now used it as a way to get back to the power in Juba”, Garang emphasized.
Mabior, a son of SPLM/A founder, has been held high by Dr. Machar, appointing him twice into higher ministerial positions; however, the young politician ran into irreconcilable grievances within and outside SPLM/A-IO leading to his self-imposed exile in Kenya where he is currently leading Tomato Revolution, an agrobusiness-political party.
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“Mabior Garang calls on SPLM/A-IO to apologize to President Kiir and VIP-IC Taban for 2016 J1 dogfight”
Mr. Mabior Garang and her mother, must tell the South Sudanese as to why to they still retain their ‘lifestyles exclusive suburb of Nairobi, Kenya. And not Juba or here here in Bor?.
During our genuine war of independence, Dr. John Garang and his family was allowed to live wherever he chose, and that was precisely to work for the issues of his country and his people. I doubt the South Sudanese people paid anything for Dr. John Garang and his family.
Mr. Mabior John Garang, is a piece of trash, he had never smelt a gunpowder all is life, he is younger brother, Mr. Chol John Garang Mabior or Atong John Garang Mabior can challenge South South Sudanese people if they want to.