Protesters in Renk demand resignation of County Commissioner

JUBA – Protests in Upper Nile state’s Renk County have erupted calling for the resignation of Renk County Commissioner Dok Ghot Ngor who has been accused by civil society leaders of arbitrarily arresting youth and activists who he think are opposed to his leadership in the northern Upper Nile territory.

“They accused the commissioner of illegally arresting youth and other activists in the area with no legal grounds. This is the main reason why the protesters are demanding his removal. They said the commissioner must go and also accused him (commissioner) of not implementing issues which have been resolved and agreed upon,” Malik Angok, a community leader in Renk, said, according to Radio Tamazuj.

“The local communities have raised the issue of the 3 percent quota of employment in the organizations but nothing is done about it. We need our local youth to get employed.” Angok added.

Separately, the Renk County Commissioner Dok Ghot accused unnamed politicians in the area of inciting youth against his government describing them as hungry politicians who would want to come to power for lucrative purposes.

“Some hungry politicians who want the seat of the commissioner are mobilizing youth in the area to protest. These are people against unity, peace, and the social cohesion that exists in Renk County. They do not represent the people of Renk County nor the entire northern Upper Nile region,” he said.

He categorized the group as failures and hungry politicians who do not know politics and said the local youth in Renk County have clear demands of which the local authorities are aware. He added that the organizations are development partners and are working with the local government to address the issues raised by the youth.

“We do support them (youths) so that their demands are achieved through peaceful means,” Commissioner Ngor added.