November 12,2021—The Former SPLM Secretary General, Pagan Amum Okiech has said the ruling party, Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, is no longer standing on its core values but has now become another National Congress Party in South Sudan.
In an exclusive interview with Rumbek Broadcasting Corporation (RBC) on Thursday, Amum who is a founding SPLM member, brands the current SPLM as a “National Congress Party” that is hiding under the slogan of SPLM/A, saying the principles of the SPLM have been abandoned by President Salva Kiir Mayardit.
He said the underlying principles of political parties have been thrown away and what remains now is just only a name but the programs and policies are not SPLM agendas so far.
“There is no SPLM now in South Sudan but it’s only exist by name but its programs and the founding ideal is not there, what exists now is the SPLM of NCP”, Amum said during the interview.
When asked whether they failed the nation as SPLM leaders, Amum admitted for the second time the failure of the SPLM leaders but argued that it is two types of failure.
“Of course, we failed as SPLM but the only failure which I can accept is our failure of allowing the SPLM to be hijacked from us but the other failures that resulted into killings and destructions are made by few individuals especially someone like president Kiir who has branched from the political vision of the party “, he argued.
Pagan Omum Okiech, a former political detainee, former Secretary General of SPLM and a die-hard Garang-boy, was once a favorite choice of president Kiir until Amum began showing ambition to lead not only the SPLM but South Sudan.
In 2013 Amum and other SPLM senior members were arrested and detained for siding with Machar and for criticizing president Kiir for failing the party and the country; however, they were later released and given over to the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta with hopes that would stay in exile until further notice.
Fearing for his safety, Amum has remained in exile and tried to be politically relevance; however, Kiir’s administration have continually attempt to silence them.
In 2019, Amum and others formed their own political party and named it the “Real SPLM” with hope to challenge Kiir’s SPLM; however, Kiir is continuing his strong hold on politics through all means possible which becomes a stumbling block for politicians like Amum with no military back-up.
