Gola says minister of youth “has no power to suspend me”

JUBA — The Chairperson of South Sudan National Youth Union (SSNYU) has rejected the suspension by the minister of youth and sports Albino Bol Dhieu saying he does not have the constitutional mandate to suspend him.

Albino Bol on Thursday suspended Gola for allegedly writing to foreign leaders without the knowledge of the minister of youth and sports and then formed a committee to investigate the authenticity of the letter.

But in a statement, the SSNYU said the minister does not have powers under the constitution to suspend its chairman saying the articles cited by Albino Bol in his suspension letter only empower the SSNYU.

“Hon. Dr. Albino Bol has no constitutional mandate to suspend the elected Chairperson of the Union. Minister Bol has usurped the role of the Council of SSNYU and acted with ultra vires powers for it is only the council that suspends the Chairman,” the SSNYU said in a statement this afternoon.

“This unlawful act shows his desperate attempts to disorganize the Leadership of the Union at the doormat of achieving its goals and mission,” it added.

It said that “Hon. Minister, in his good mind, has cheated South Sudanese by quoting irrelevant articles of various constitutions. For instance, Article 114(1) of the transitional constitution of the republic of South Sudan talks on the roles of the Minister and there is no mention of South Sudan National Youth Union in those roles.

“Article 46(1) of the constitution of South Sudan National Youth Union says that the youth and sports bodies’ commission shall be the body in line with Youth Union as such: all notification send to Ministry shall pass through it.

“This is only giving supremacy to SSNYU over other youth bodies. Sub article 4 of the proceeding article talks of an intervention of the ministry in case of ‘serious and grave conflict’ in the union which is not the case with Hon. Bol’s involvement. This article only emphasizes much on the inter-linkages between the Ministry and the Union. Unless it is a premeditated action, the cited articles have nothing to do with suspension.

“There is no law and most especially the articles the Minister has cited that talk of protocol he claimed to have been undermined or any correspondence of South Sudan National Youth Union and gambling is not for officials.”