Kiir demands security assurance for Apadang community before he appoint Olony

South Sudan president, Salva Kiir Mayardit [Photo via Getty Images]

JUBA – South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit has agreed to appoint General Johnson Olony Thabo as governor of the oil-rich Upper Nile state, but is demanding security assurance for the Apadang community of Upper Nile state, senior opposition official and minister of petroleum Puot Kang Chuol told reporters on Monday.

Kang who is close to Machar said the main armed opposition group has prepared its list for those who are nominated to state governments, and is awaiting to be submitted to the president for green light for appointment.

“We have finished all our consultations at grass root and we are ready with our lists and as soon as the governor we will submit all out lists for all tens plus three administrative areas,” Kang said.

Puot further said that the leadership of his party has also decided to suspend its meetings until the formation of state government is completed.

“We want to move forward but Upper Nile is one of the states, you don’t have ten states without Upper Nile, the same way, you will not have ten states without any other state in the Republic of South Sudan,” Kang explained.

The main opposition group appealed to President Salva Kiir Mayardit to speed up the appointment of the governor of Upper.

“We are therefore, humbling, asking the President to speed up the appointment of General Johnson Olony so the people of Upper Nile are not left behind, they deserve to have the government like any other state in South Sudan,”  he told reporters.

Separately, the Nathaniel Pierino, the SPLM-IO representative to the National Constitution Amendment Committee (NCAC), said an agreement has been reached between his party and President Kiir to appoint Gen. Olony as the Upper Nile State governor.

“We have been engaging the president as a party through the office of the first vice president in a dialogue over this matter. This is a matter of critical importance and the agreement assigned the issue of nomination candidates or officials in R-TGoNU to respective parties and we nominated Gen. Olony to the position of governor for Upper Nile State,” the senior opposition official said, as reported by Radio Tamazuj.

“But this was being rejected by another party in R-TGoNU. President Salva Kiir rejected the appointment of Gen. Olony. We have been engaging with him and we have reached some consensus that Olony can be appointed as per the nomination of the SPLM/A-IO,” he added.

When pressed about whether President Kiir accepted to appoint Olony, the senior opposition official said, “In principle, the president has accepted the responsibility that lies with the SPLM/A-IO to nominate its candidate for the position of the governor for Upper Nile. What the president is waiting for is just to appoint and this is where we have been engaging with him and we have reached some critical steps towards the appointment of Gen. Johnson Olony.”

He said the last discussion between the president and the first vice president took place a week ago and indeed the president indicated no objection that Olony could be appointed but demanded security assurances for the people of Upper Nile.

“You know Upper Nile is inhabited by the Chollo, Nuer and Dinka Ngok people. So the president was concerned about the security of the Dinka Ngok,” according to Oyet. “That fear should not have arisen if all the parties who are now in Juba trying to form a revitalized government of national unity are engaged in implementing security arrangements and permanent ceasefire, the unification of forces and all our forces, be it in the SSPDF or the SPLM/A-IO including those forces in Upper Nile, those fears should not have arisen.”

He said coming to Juba of Gen. Olony is not a matter that would hold the appointment of the governor for Upper Nile, “He can come to Juba at any time once the appointment is done or even before the appointment. He is a free citizen of this country and he is a member of the SPLA-IO, his commander-in-chief is in Juba so there is no big deal about if he will come to Juba or not.”

But government spokesman, Michael Makuei, when contacted said that if there was an agreement about the appointment of Olony he would have been appointed by now.

“If the president had agreed, he would have appointed him. He is the only governor who has not been appointed and if the president agreed he would have appointed him already,” Makuei said.

Makuei said that the president wanted some assurances because there are fears that if Olony is appointed there might be a breakdown of peace.

“Maybe even the peace agreement might collapse if Olony is appointed. This is the reason the president has been reluctant in appointing Olony but Dr. Riek has been insisting and the president told him to make an undertaking that if anything happens like chaos and or fighting in Upper Nile then he (Dr. Machar) will be responsible.”