Governor Futuyo says Juba government is ‘full of NCP’ agents

JUBA – Western Equatoria State Governor Alfred Futuyo Karaba sparked controversy on Tuesday by claiming the national government in Juba is dominated by appointees with ties to Sudan’s National Congress Party (NCP).

The NCP, linked to the Sudanese Islamic Movement (SIM), came to power in Sudan following a 1989 coup led by former president Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted in a 2019 uprising.

Many South Sudanese politicians who belonged to the NCP returned to South Sudan after independence in 2011 and assumed senior positions within the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the government.

Speaking during an event the 13th anniversary of South Sudan’s independence, Futuyo alleged the government is controlled by individuals who spent the war years in the diaspora rather than fighting alongside the SPLA (Sudan People’s Liberation Army) during the 1983-2005 civil war.

“The SPLA during the struggle had two forces. One operated in Kenya, USA, and Uganda outside South Sudan, another one was fighting the Arabs. We got our independence, but those who were in the diasporas came back with suits as politicians and took control,” he alleged.

“They forgot important things in the budget like support for soldiers, education, health, and agriculture. This is why we have problems,” he added.

He elaborated on the alleged marginalization of war veterans, stating that the South Sudanese army soldiers who fought for independence are now neglected, while the focus has shifted to the well-being of a select few such as the president and his deputies.

“The real people who fought, the soldiers, are left with nothing while the focus is on the well-being of the president, vice president, ministers, governors, and MPs,” he said.

He said the government is being controlled by NCP agents and specifically named Vice President James Wani Igga and Presidential Affairs Minister Joseph Bakosoro as exceptions within the government, suggesting they are not NCP-affiliated.

“The real people who fought, the soldiers, are left with nothing while the focus is on the well-being of the president, vice president, ministers, governors, and MPs. It seems the National Congress Party (NCP) enjoys South Sudan’s resources, not us who fought for the country. Even in Juba, the government is full of NCP, except for Wani Igga and Bakosoro,” he said.

The comments by Futuyo, who is a senior member of the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) led by First Vice President Riek Machar has sparked controversy among the public.

While others see him as “the real opposition” to the government of President Kiir for having “spoken the truth,” others see him as “a very clueless guy” whose point of view “doesn’t make sense” and is “contradicting himself”.