CEPO urges compromise as Kiir, Machar discuss defense ministry dispute

JUBA, MARCH 10, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – A South Sudanese civil society watchdog has appealed to President Salva Kiir Mayardit and First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny for a compromise over the dispute surrounding the ministry of defense.

Last Friday, Kiir sacked the minister of defense Angelina Teny and her interior counterpart Mahmoud Solomon.

The president who did not named replacement for the two senior government officials then issued a separate decree taking away the ministry of defense from Machar’s group, giving it the interior ministry instead.

The SPLM-IO issued a statement condemning the changes and a meeting between Kiir and Machar took place this morning and yet, no outcome has been communicated to the public yet.

Speaking to Sudans Post, the Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) Edmund Yakani welcomed the Kiir-Machar meeting and called for a compromise over the dispute which has since threatened failure of the agreement.

“CEPO welcomes the meeting between the president and the first vice president on the recent political disagreement on the presidential decree on swapping of the ministries of defenses and veteran affairs and interior between SPLM and SPLM-IO,” Yakani said.

He called for compromise between the two leaders in the interest of the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.

“Our leaders in their today meeting should take primary responsibility for compromise and demonstrates political maturity of reaching consensus on their recent political disagreements,” Yakani told Sudans Post.

“CEPO is urging president and first Vice President to hold the meeting in peaceful manner and reach consensus on disputes today,” Yakani stressed.