Kiir risks losing reputation if he overstay in power – Awet Akot

JUBA – South Sudan politician, Daniel Awet Akot, who is a senior member of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) led by President Salva Kiir Mayardit has warned that the president risks losing his reputation and  legacy if he continue to overstay in power.

The warning from Akot, a one-time presidential advisor and former deputy speaker of parliament, comes days after senior presidential advisor and former minister of defense, Kuol Manyang Juuk urged President Kiir to relinquish power and give it to the young people.

Last week, Manyang who is also a senior member of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement denied rumors and speculations that he was planning to take on President Salva Kiir Mayardit during the upcoming SPLM convention ahead of the planned 2023 elections.

Manyang said he had advised President Kiir several times about the importance of leaving power, pointing out that the ruling party under Kiir has stayed for seventeen years without any single achievement, something he said can ruin the good things President Kiir has done during the liberation struggle.

“I told President Salva Kiir that it is time for us to relinquish power and give it to the young people and he has been in agreement [with me] because we have been in power since 2005 and now this is 17 years for us leading the government of South Sudan,” Juuk said.

“We could have done anything, but these years have gone, and we have a lot of challenges, political challenges, a rebellion, defections, the country is experiencing insecurity, no development, something that we have not done for the last 17 years, really, are we sure that we can do it tomorrow?” he asked.

In an interview on Monday with Sudan Tribune, Daniel Awet Akot who is also a member of the SPLM Political Bureau said President Salva Kiir Mayardit should resign to preserve his liberation struggle legacy because overstaying in power may ruin it.

“We fought the war, liberated our people and have the country. Is this not a big legacy to preserve? The young people, the Jesh Amer, and others should take it from us and let us go home. They will continue with the mission and vision of the SPLM,” he said, as quoted by Sudan Tribune.

“For us, we have done our part and in order for us to be remembered in history, we need to relinquish power and give it to the young people,” he stressed, adding that he and Kuol Manyang are “not against Comrade Salva, we are instead protecting him. We want him to go into history with a good name.”

He further said that the two senior SPLM politicians “want him to be in the league of Comrade Fidel Castro, Comrade Nelson Mandela and many others who fought for freedom and independence of their countries.”