Another senior SPLM-IO official joins General Gatwech Dual

JUBA – South Sudan main armed opposition group’s co-chair to the Ceasefire & Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring & Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM), and member of the SPLM-IO Political Bureau, Manasseh D. Zindo, has declared his intention to join the Kitgwang faction led by General Simon Gatwech Dual.

This comes after the SPLM-IO deputy chairman Henry Odwar who resigned from being the minister of mining in the revitalized unity government said he was supporting the Kitgwang declaration in which General Simon Gatwech Dual announced following a gathering of top opposition commander that he has replaced First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny.

“Before I joined active politics in December 2013, I knew its terms of reference (ToR) very well, I was not naive. I only detest the notion of politics being a “dirty” game, I prefer to say politics is a ‘game’ of the mind, just like when we are playing soccer, we strategize to defeat the opponent,” Zindo said in a statement extended to Sudans Post.

“That way I have maintained my integrity & what I stand for, nationhood building. It’s the reason why I never defected despite being lured on several occasions, I remained committed to the ideals of a reform agenda which I was made to believe in Pagak the SPLM-IO stood for until I realized it was a fallacy, still I remained steadfast because I am a founding member of the movement,” he said.

He acknowledged the split of the SPLM-IO into two rival camps with one in Magenis and the other in Juba saying he is now a part of the Kitgwang faction under General Simon Gatwech Dual accusing Machar of failures.

“The SPLM-IO has now split into two, one in Juba and one in Magenis, both are led by founding leaders of the movement, they are leaders I respect and admire. However, after careful consideration and thorough analysis of the situation, I have decided to throw my weight behind the Kit Gwang Declaration that intends to uphold the ideals that I cherish,” he said.

“Like me, the leadership in Magenis is not inspired by affluence nor the trappings of power but the welfare of others such as the soldiers who watched over us as we slept in bush. They cannot always be used as a means to attain power, and then abandoned, such practice is barbaric and outdated, it cannot continue during our time,” he added.

He further said that he “will now commit my energy into supporting the Kit Gwang Declaration to see to it that we stabilize South Sudan. The leadership in Magenis is like the biblical saying, and I quote: ‘The stone that the builders rejected, has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.”’

“I urge the government to work with the selfless leadership in Magenis to train and graduate the unified force, our brothers and sisters cannot remain in the bush forever, let us bring them out and let us build a true national army that will reflect the face of South Sudan,” added the senior opposition official.