Sudan rejects Kiir’s request to expel, deport Dr. Lam

Leader of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) and Secretary-General of South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin is asking for the appointment of his nominee as governor of Jonglei state (Photo credit: via Radio Tamazuj)

JUBA/KHARTOUM – The Sudanese government has rejected a request by South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir Mayardit, to expel prominent opposition leader Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin who traveled to Khartoum last month, two security sources in Khartoum said.

The request to have Dr. Lam deported, one source confirmed from Juba, was made by Kiir last week after concerns that Dr. Akol who is also the Chairman of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) and Secretary-General of South Sudan Opposition Alliance was withdrawing from the peace deal.

“Yes it is true that President Salva Kiir requested last week the authorities in Sudan to deport Dr. Lam back to South Sudan or have him expelled from there,” the source said from South Sudan’s capital Juba.

Another General Intelligence Service (GIS) said in Khartoum that the Sudanese National Security Council (SNSC) rejected the request by Kiir saying Dr. Lam was not an asylum seeker in Sudan and was visiting a may return to South Sudan in the near future.

“This was rejected by the national security council,” the security source said. “He cannot be deported because he is a visitor and has done nothing wrong. He is like any other South Sudanese citizen who is living in Sudan now.”

It was not immediately clear why the president would request to deport Dr. Lam when the opposition leader reiterated last week his unwavering support for the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.