By Kei Emmanuel Duku
A senior army officer with the National Salvation Front (NAS) rebel movement, Anthony Juma Redento Pitia has resigned from his post overseeing Egypt and Middle East affairs.
In a resignation letter dated May 30th, seen by this outlet, Pitia cited a lack of transparency and communication within the NAS leadership.
Pitia, who joined NAS in 2017, accused the group’s high command and certain individuals of running the organization like a “family business” without a clear vision or chain of command.
He said decisions were often based on rumors rather than being reached collectively.
“I joined the movement with the passion of serving and addressing the root causes of the conflict in South Sudan. However, in the middle of our struggle, the organization fell hostage under the hands of some opportunists. As such, the movement lost its vision, mission, and objectives,” Pitia wrote in the resignation letter.
The National Salvation Front is one of the holdout groups that did not sign the 2018 peace agreement.
Since 2022, the Non-Signatory South Sudan Opposition Groups, including NAS, have been engaged in peace talks mediated by the Sant’Egidio Community in Rome and Nairobi.
However, NAS leader General Thomas Cirilo Swaka recently pulled out of the Tumaini peace initiative, in Nairobi, citing a lack of trust in the process.