Juba, South Sudan,
Sep 24, 2021 —- The Jieng (Dinka) Council of elders, a self-imposed group that campaigns for Dinka tribe interests, call on president Salva Kiir and his former rival, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, to step aside and give ways to young bloods to lead the country.
In a statement extended to Nyamilepedia, the Jieng Council of Elders equivocally reiterates their findings, which they narrated through the National Dialogue documents that they presented to president before its dissolution, that Kiir and Machar leadership failure is what brought the country to her knees and as such they must exit and give ways to better alternatives.
“We applaud the national dialogue for pointing out the truth and for sharply dissecting and pointing out state and leadership failure as the root causes of the current crises in South Sudan.” They said in their press statement.
“We are in agreement entirely with their assessment and call upon president Salva Kiir and the 1st vice president Dr. Riek Machar to listen to the voices of the people” They continued.
Although the controversial group is calling on Kiir and Machar to step aside, it is unclear who they have in mind to replace Kiir and Machar, two heavily militarized leaders who control both the resources and the army, without escalating the ongoing suffering of the people.
The group, whose influence has been on a decline since Machar’s return to Juba, seems to have split into two or more camps without announcing it.
Their documenst was signed by Dr. Aldo Ajou Deng, Maker Thiong Maal, Charles Majak Dau and Daniel Dhieu Matuet leaving doubts on where the founder of the group, Justice Ambrose Riiny Thiik and the Secretary General Joshua Dau Diu have vanished to.
The Jieng Council of Elders have had significant influence on Kiir’s administration between 2014 and 2016; however, like any other group in the country, the JCE has had its ups and downs including defections of some of its members who aligned their allegiance behind senior politicians and military generals who defected from president Kiir’s leadership.
