August 3rd 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – Former Secretary-General of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) party, Pagan Amum Okiech, has accused President Salva Kiir Mayardit and unnamed remnants of the National Congress Party (NCP) of hijacking and betraying the vision of the SPLM party.
Kiir was the leader of the unified SPLM before it fractured into several rival factions in December 2013 following a dispute on who should lead the party.
Following the eruption of war, the party fractured into SPLM-Juba led by Kiir, SPLM-FDs led by Pagan Amum and SPLM-IO led by former vice-president, Dr. Riek Machar.
In January 2015, the three groups signed the Arusha Reunification Accords setting a roadmap on which basis the party could be reunited.
However, as the country returned to war after a 2015 peace agreement halted the fight for just less than a year, it became difficult for the signatories of the Arusha agreement to continue the reunification process.
In June, Pagan said he was resigning from the historical party and said he was preparing to unveil a new political entity that will aim at reviving the vision of the SPLM.
In an exclusive interview with Nyamilepedia on Friday, Amum said he resigned because President Kiir and some members of the NCP hijacked the SPLM vision and betrayed its core values.
“I have resigned from the current SPLM because it’s current leadership represented by Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit with NCP leaders have hijacked the SPLM party, betrayed its vision and core values,” Amum told the Nyamilepedia from the US Friday.
“He has destroyed the historical people’s Movement” Amum added.
The top former SPLM official said Kiir is implementing policies that are contrary to the initial SPLM vision as set forth by its founding Chairman Dr. John Garang de’Mabior.
He said Kiir is pursuing nepotism, corruption and discrimination which were the main reasons why Dr. John Garang and others – including himself – took up arms.
“The organization led and used by Kiir today is implementing an agenda which is contrary to what the SPLM struggled for,” Amum said.
“Kiir is practicing tribalism, nepotism, regional sectarianism, discrimination, corruption and mismanagement of the affairs of the young nation [which] are all the things the SPLM went to the bush to fight against,” he added.
“A genuine member of the Real SPLM can not be silent to this and can not remain with Kiir or be a yes member of Kiir’s Party.” He added.
Amum further said it was on this basis that he decided to quit the SPLM adding that he and others, whom he didn’t name, are in consultation to form a new party that will revive the SPLM vision.
“That is why I am distancing myself from this Kiir[‘s] corrupt system and with other like minded comrades, we are engaged in reviving the SPLM vision and core values and program betrayed by Kiir” he concluded.
