In presidential decrees readout on the state-owned broadcaster SSBC on Monday night, President Salva Kiir who is also the leader of the ruling SPLM faction expelled Yau Yau from the National Liberation Council, less than a year after his appointment into the SPLM decision-making body.
In a separate decree, Kiir revoked the 2021 appointment of Yau Yau from the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) where the latter represented his home-area of Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) on the ticket of the SPLM.
But in a statement, CEPO’s Executive Director Edmund Yakani said that he is concerned with the expulsion of Yau Yau from the positions and called on the government of President Kiir to come out on the reasons behind the presidential actions.
“CEPO is urging the political leadership of the country to be seriously concerned about triggers that may cause public panic and witness the likelihood of the return to violence. The revocation of membership of Yau Yau from SPLM liberation Council has generated some disturbing response and is a worrying development,” Yakani said.
“There is need to get clear statement from the government as to what is behind the revoking of David Yau Yau’s membership of the SPLM NLC and the parliament before enemies of peace turn it as undermining factor for violence,” he added.
The activist said that he and his organization “hopes that the revoking of Yau Yau is with good faith where consensus was reached” and said that “prevention of the country from returning to violence should be top priority of the political leadership.”
“With the looming elections there is need to be careful in tackling politics. Our early warning system is demonstrating elections at state level probability of being violent is higher,” Yakani added.