By Staff Writer
Bentiu Local Football Association General Assembly, on Tuesday, impeached its president and his deputy over leadership failures.
Gatjang Matiok and Chahan Chan, were respectively impeached on 13th May, during an extraordinary General Assembly meeting at Bentiu Youth Center.
Two-thirds majority seconded “vote no confidence” against the two top leaders of the Football Association.
Also impeached were Secretary General, Gatkuoth Nyuel and Treasurer, Puok Matai, reportedly due to a leadership vacuum.
Henceforth the Assembly nominated three interim leaders: Lat Tungwar Kuicguong as Acting President, Bol Majuan Gatduel as Acting Secretary General, and Pech Alpam Rialthin as Acting Treasurer.
The Assembly attributed the leadership issues to the absence of key officials, including the former president, secretary general, and treasurer, who they claimed were working remotely from Juba, causing significant operational challenges. The duration of their absence in Juba remains unclear.
According to Article 6 of the local unified statutes, an extraordinary General Assembly can be convened if more than half of its eligible voting members support the request. The statutes mandate that such a meeting must occur within 30 days of the request if there is non-compliance.
Zechariah Kuol Majuet stated, “They requested the president and his board for the first and second meeting respectively on November 28th, 2024, and February 5th, 2025. But the leadership did not acknowledge their roles nor respond to our initial request.”
Assembly member, Lam Puok explained their use of Article 9 to impeach the leadership.
“The vote of no confidence was used when they were summoned and they failed to show up,” he said.
The leadership was also accused of halting sports tournaments since the previous year without a valid reason.
A tournament slated for May 30, 2025, in Unity State was indefinitely postponed, prompting the Assembly to convene the extraordinary meeting.
Soon FC Deputy secretary, Chieng Wanmau argued that “absence of the sports activities in the State encourages crimes and causes psychological trauma to young people. But when the tournament is organized it will reduce trauma among the redundant youth who have no jobs.”
Acting Director of Culture, Youth, and Sports, Peter Puot Jiech clarified that the ministry has no jurisdiction powers over the general assembly.
“The ministry’s role is to witness the sports committee meetings or resolutions. If you want to remove your chairperson, it is the assembly’s constitutional choice,” he said.
Laat Tungwar Kuicguong, who has become the new president of the football association asserted that the former chairperson and his board had violated the constitution.
“They acted unconstitutionally by undermining the Assembly mandate,” he said, warning that “if the leadership failed, they deserved to be removed according to article 9 and elect new leadership without keeping sport hostage.”
This is not the first time sports officials have been impeached in Unity State. Former president, Philip Nguon Top was also impeached in 2022 for alleged mismanagement of $20,000 in COVID-19 funds.
State sports associations have reportedly faced leadership disputes due to the involvement of undisclosed political figures, which some believe is detrimental to sports management.
Frustrated senior sports experts who withdrew their participation have voiced concerns about football mismanagement.
Mr. Gatjang initially became Acting President in May 2022 following Philip’s impeachment and was officially confirmed as president in April 2023.
Members claim that the national sports leadership unconstitutionally extended its term until 2027 without approval from the Unity State General Assembly.
Unity State Football Association comprises over 10 football clubs that compete in tournaments within Bentiu town, in addition to county-level tournaments.