By Staff Writer
Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-In-Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) has rejected the suspension of Kech Nguoth Tiem, the Minister for Parliamentary and Legal Affairs of Upper Nile State.
In a press statement released on Tuesday, Rt. Hon Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, Acting Chairman and Commander-In-Chief of the SPLM/A-IO, and First Deputy Speaker of the TNLA, RSS, declared that the suspension, ordered by the Governor of Upper Nile State, H.E. Lt. Gen. James Koang Chuol, was illegal.
The SPLM/A-IO maintains that it does not recognize the authority of Lt. Gen. James Koang Chuol, arguing that his appointment as governor contravenes the Responsibilities Sharing Agreement, which allocated Upper Nile State to the SPLM/A-IO.
The statement signed by Acting Chairman, Oyet Nathaniel Pierino asserts that Hon. Kech Nguoth Tiem remains the legitimate Minister for Parliamentary and Legal Affairs of Upper Nile State.
Meanwhile, the main opposition is calling upon the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) and the Guarantors of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) to address what it deems a “serious political violation” of the agreement.
A new report from the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) reveals that the implementation of South Sudan’s Revitalized Peace Agreement (R-ARCSS) significantly stalled during the first quarter, this year.
AMB. MAJ. GEN. (rtd) George Aggrey Owinow, the RJMEC interim chairperson’s report, explicitly stated that the implementation of the Agreement “ground to a halt” during the reporting period, attributing this stagnation to repeated violations by the parties involved and a significant worsening of the political and security landscape in South Sudan.