Kiir replaces late opposition lawmaker with member of own party

JUBA – South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Monday night issued a Republic Decree replacing an opposition lawmaker who passed on in the Sudanese capital Khartoum in September with a member of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).

Simon Arkangelo Bidingi was a South Sudanese politician who was a member of the Reconstituted Transitional National Legislative Assembly on the ticket of South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) representing one of the constituencies in Western Equatoria state.

He died in the Sudanese capital Khartoum On September 19 following a lengthy battle with unknown sickness.

Kiir in the Republic Decree read out on the state-owned South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) named Mariam John Mambia of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement as the replacement.

The Presidential decree did not give reason why the South Sudanese head of state replaced the late lawmaker with a member of his part as the nominating party should have identified a replacement, according to the revitalized peace agreement.