July 23rd 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – Former SPLM-FDs representative to Independent Boundaries Commission (IBC) Nyenagwek Kuol Mareng has said that she was removed from her position by the group’s leader Deng Alor so that the FDs could please president Salva Kiir who she said was not happy about the initial FDs stance on the state issue.
Last week, the FDs official resigned from the group after accusing some senior leaders within the group of conspiring against her for standing firm in favor of the FDs position on the controversial state issue.
Since President Salva Kiir created more states in October 2015, the group, then under ex-SPLM Secretary-General Pagan Amum, has been calling for the return of the country to the previous ten (10) states arguing that dividing up the country based on Kiir’s approach creates more tribal conflicts in the country already torn apart by a tribal war.
The states issue has been one of the sticking points during the peace process and a revitalized version of a 2015 peace agreement signed in Addis Ababa last year established the IBC tasking it with decision to decided how many states should be in South Sudan.
Last month, members of the IBC voted on how many states should be in South Sudan. Nyenagwek was one of the majority who voted for return of South Sudan to ten states, something that angered Deng Alor and few members of the FDs leading to her recall from the IBC position.
Few days later, Nyenagwek resigned saying senior members of the FDs leadership were conspiring against her including Majak de’Agot, ex-deputy minister of defense and senior member of the group who accused Nyenagwek of losing her direction.
Speaking to Nyamilepedia on Tuesday from the Ugandan capital Kampala, Nyenagwek accused some he didn’t name of pressuring Deng Alor to issue a blame for her because she voted for 10 states and recall her from the IBC so that the group can please President Salva Kiir Mayardiit.
“….some of them (FDs leaders) don’t want me and with my vote for 10 states got the chance to pressure Deng Alor to put the blame on me and [recall me from IBC membership] so that they make the government happy and especially President Kiir,” Nyenagwek told the Nyamilepedia on Tuesday afternoon.
The FDs official who served before as a information minister for the defunct Warrap state said she explained why she voted for ten states when she was requested by the group’s leader to do so saying Deng denied that she met him before the vote could take place on 8th June.
“When honorable Deng [Alor] asked me to explain why I did vote for 10 states instead of government’s 32 plus 29 which make 61 states, I explained in a meeting but all of them attacked me including honorable Deng who called me a lair saying I didn’t consult him and even he didn’t saw my face [before the vote] which shocked me a lot because I went back to Juba on 8th June 2019 from Nairobi with a travel document because my passport was in the British Embassy in Nairobi for a visa to UK and he denied totally,” she said.
She argued that the ten states has been the position of the group since the controversy over the issue began in 2015 and reiterated that she met Deng Alor on June 8th 2019 shortly before the vote took place and said Alor told her to go on with the ten-states position.
“The return to ten states has been the FDs position since 2015 up to the 8th June when I spoke to honorable Deng Alor and asked me to go for 10 states which I found later has been changed without my knowledge,” she added.
