By Bida Elly David
The former governor of Warrap State, Lewis Anei Kuendi has refuted allegations made against him and his associates by a lawmaker accusing them of attempting illicit conspiracies to over throw the current community leadership in the State.
No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper in its publication Monday, 20th June 2022 published an article in which a lawmaker at Transitional National Assembly (TNLA), Kanaj Kuol Kuol accused the former Warrap State governor, Lewis Anei Kuendit and his allies of having illicit conspiracy to ‘overthrow’ the sitting Community leadership.
The story quoted Hon. Kanaj Kuol Kuol who alleged that the ex-Warrap governor chaired meeting over the weekend in absence of the Tonj community chairman aimed at replacing the current chairperson of Tonj Community in his absentia.
However in a response statement emailed to No.1 Citizen Daily Newspaper yesterday, Lewis Anei Kuendit, the former governor of Warrap state said that the allegations levied against him by the law-maker was invalid since the community requested him as a leader to address some genuine matter that he did the best of his capacity.
Lewis said that he did not have any ill intention to overtake or claim powers as stated by the lawmaker but rather to accept a call by the community as the former member of a chosen elected elders to help them resolve disputes that are obstructing the Community for long.
“The young MP accused me of plotting to overthrow the Acting Community
Leader who is also the current governor of Warrap State. For the benefit
of the reading public which is not true. In 2011, Tonj people in the National Capital found they become a big population with issues requiring the Community Body of elders and a Community Leader to be formed in order to address those issues including matters pertaining to the community back home. In a General Assembly of the people of Tonj, Gen. Anthony Bol Madut Bol, the late, was elected as the Community Leader and was to head a Council of 13 elected elders which included youth and women representatives. In that arrangement, the current Governor, Gen. Aleu Ayieny Aleu became the Deputy Community Leader. Ex- Governor of Warrap State (my good self) became the Secretary General. The rest of the positions in the Executive Committee in the Council were given to some members of the Council’’ Anei cleared himself off the allegations.
He said after the demise of the former community leader which brought in the current governor to lead the community resulting to his appointment, he played role of being a former secretary mandated to act.
“In 2019, the Community Leader died and Gen. Aleu took over as Acting
Community Leader, pending the time to hold the General Assembly Meeting
to elect a new Community Leader. In 2021 and before the convening of the
General Assembly, Gen. Aleu got appointed as Governor of Warrap State
and so he went to the State. According to the Hierarchy of this Community Body, the Secretary General was presumed to act and proceed with the functions of the
Body. Unfortunately, Governor Aleu in his State Capital, Kuajok, decided
to suspend the Body in Juba and bared out any meeting by the former
Body’’ he stated.
Furthermore, he reiterated that his intervention was due to the destructive communal conflicts and violence in Tonj areas that couldn’t keep him mute since the governor suspended the community leadership.
“Since the entire nation and the world are aware of the destructive communal conflicts and violence in Tonj areas, people of Tonj kept coming to me to call a General Assembly of Tonj People for them to setup a new Community Leadership Body in order to address problems among them in Juba as well as those problems in the State in collaboration with the State Government,
After consultation and pressures mounted on me by Tonj people to call
for the meeting, taking me as the only remaining senior symbol of the
suspended Community Leadership in Juba whose membership has remained to
be only four of us and worse of all, after the wake of the renewed
violence in Tonj North and Tonj East Counties, I felt duty-bound as a Leader, an elder and a citizen from the very Tonj to call for Tonj elders’ meeting to consult about the suspended Community body and the emergency situation at home. 62 elders plus youths and women leaders attended the meeting. That meeting resolved to call for General Assembly of Tonj People in Juba. It also resolved to setup an organizing committee as well as election committee, authorizing the former Secretary General who is indeed the fiat accomplished symbol of the then
suspended Community Body of Tonj in Juba to continue as the Acting
Community Leader until he hands over the body to the General Assembly
for a new leader and a functioning Body to be elected” he said. Finally, he said that the accusations labelled against him was baseless and not true.
“The accusation of a plot labelled on me to overthrow the Community
Leader, is baseless as can be seen from the above chronology. Aleu was
not the elected Community Leader. Again, he is currently a Governor in
the State and is not here to also become Acting Community Leader. On his
part, he has illegally suspended the Community Leadership Body. So where
is the conspiracy to overthrow who and in what!? Tonj People in Juba cannot be held hostage even at the time when the Community is in pain and
needs its educated citizens to come to their aide. The lie by young MP
Kanaj Kuol that Tonj is peaceful and stable is a mockery on the
suffering Tonj People. The young MP may deserve the right to defend the
one who recommended him, but not at the expense of the society” he stressed.