By Akol Madut Ngong
The lawmakers of the Reconstituted Transitional National Legislative Assembly on Tuesday 31 May, 2022 in their ordinary sitting No. 10/2022 debated over a presentation of a motion on matter of Urgent Public Importance on the killing of three (3) youth by SSPDF in Kajo-Keji county in Central Equatoria State by Mary Puru Michael, a Member of Kajo-Keji Parliamentary Caucus representing Kajo-Keji.
During the debate, Celina Pita Sworo, one of the lawmakers representing Kajo-Keji County, Central Equatoria state under SPLM, called for reshuffle of the armies’ commanders and the commanders of the organized forces in order to restore from soldiers towards their commanders.
“Soldiers are no longer listening to their command because some of the commanders have been staying in one place for so long, it is not good, it will give soldiers not to respect their command” Pita stated.
“The ministers concerned should look into this matter that those commanders’ shouldn’t stay in one place for a long time so that the soldiers will know that this is a new commander and if the practice bad things then they will be punished, perhaps they have done several mistakes, they have not been punished form and this is uncalled for,” she explained.
“This killing is cross cutting in this country, if we are preparing to go for election, these citizens will go back to their hiding, and some will return back to the camps and others to the PoC, for how long will our people stay in exile,” Pita questioned.
Meanwhile the representative of Chukudum – Eastern Equatoria State, Hon Oreste Lopara said “these soldiers have their commanders, they are supposed to answer these questions. Who authorized the soldiers to do such kind of things?
“I think, the leadership should take this thing very seriously, if you look now the government is supposed to give a statement to anybody who is killed because in this country, people are dying from Bahr el Gazal, Upper Nile and Eastern Equatoria and you never heard the government giving statement because these are the human beings and I suggest that the minister of defense and Minister of Interior, they are supposed to come to the people of South Sudan to answer these questions” Lopara said.
However, The MPs Representing Panyikang County, Upper Nile state South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) William Obach Utong said, “we had been hearing all the times killing, killing from our specific soldiers whom are supposed to protect the people who are here with us in order to encourage other people who are there in protection of civilian side (POC).
“We had been talking yesterday about the registration of the political parties’, from where do we get these numbers of people, if these civilians are being killed or threatened by our soldiers, whom they are supposed to protect them and encourage them to come back in their respective areas” Obach said.
“There should be some serious initiative to be taken otherwise this peace that we are talking about will die in the air later on,” he added.