‘Don’t be misled’ by western sanctions that the gov’t will collapse – Makuei ridicules opposition

JUBA – South Sudan’s information minister Michael Makuei Lueth has ridiculed opposition groups comparing them to an animal in his village in Jonglei state saying they have been misled by United States and United Nations sanctions that the government will collapse soon, urging the opposition groups to come to the negotiating table to resolve ‘our problems’ at home.

“In our home area, there is a story there is very small animal that usually follows the footpath and whenever they get any person, of course human beings walk like this, and when you keep walking like this, it will just follow you, believing that this hand will fall soon but if never fall. It follows you and after that when it gets tired, it would [eventually] abandon you, it doesn’t attack you, but it is just waiting for that hand to fall,” Makuei said.

“This is exactly the situation with our brothers in the opposition. They believe that the government will collapse soon. But they will continue to follow us and the government will not collapse and this is simply because they are made to believe that all these threats and all these sanctions will be implemented, that all these sanctions will have negative impacts on the government and as such the government is at the verge of collapse,” the senior government official added.

Makuei who is also the official government spokesman dismissed the alleged belief that the government of President Salva Kiir Mayardit will fall and said foreign solutions won’t solve the problem in the country urging the opposition to help the government in finding a home-grown solution to the war-torn nation’s problems.

“This is not true and we have been telling our brothers and sisters in the opposition that please don’t be misled by such statements but put the country at heart  let us sit down as brothers and sisters of this country, discuss in good faith and we will find solutions to our problems,” he said.

“Our [solutions] must be homegrown, they should not be left to others to come and decide for us. I’m here to assure the people of South Sudan that the government is working hard to ensure that we bring peace to the people of South Sudan,” he added.

Makuei is on a US list of sanctions. The controversial information minister was sanctioned along with cabinet minister Elia Lomoro by the United States for what it describes as “expanding or extending the conflict in South Sudan including by obstructing the reconciliation process or peace talks.”

The following year in January 2020, the US extended the sanction list and added First Vice President Taban Deng Gai saying Taban’s ” attempt to silence the opposition party is derailing the country’s ability to implement a peace agreement.”