June 3rd 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – A South Sudan academic has praised former SPLM Secretary-General, Pagan Amum Okiech, over his decision to quit the historical party over what he said was a lost of the party vision set forth from the onset in 1983 by Dr. John Garang.
Amum said on Sunday during a Facebook live interview with “Our Diversity” that he has decided to quit the SPLM because “the SPLM party has collapsed.” He said he and others he did not name “will form a political organisation to achieve the same vision of the SPLM.”
Luka Biong Deng, former head of Center for Peace and Development Studies at the University of Juba and a Global Fellow at Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), said in an article published by the Sudan Tribune on Sunday that Pagan resigned because he was not looking for power.
Biong who was once a member of the SPLM said based on his observation, Amum, provided satisfactory reasons why he decided to quite the party saying he is still committed to the vision of the ruling party despite the decision.
“Cde Pagan has eloquently and convincingly provided reasons for his decision but importantly he did not abandon his commitment to the vision of the SPLM,” Biong wrote.
“If Cde Pagan were looking for a position, he could easily condone the status quo assumed his position as secretary general of the SPLM and allowed himself to be absorbed and rewarded with the ministerial position but he decided to be on the right side of the history and with his conscience,” he added.
