Lakes state governor fires traditional chiefs for refusing to cooperate with local authorities

JUBA – The governor of South Sudan’s Lakes State, General Rin Tueny Mabor, on Tuesday relieved three traditional chiefs over lack of cooperation with county authorities, according to a senior Lakes state government official.

Majak Agok Machol, President of Rumbek court, Makur Manyoch Anyany and Mabor Mangek Nyach, the executive chiefs of Maleng-Agok Payam in Rumbek East, were relieved from their duties due to failure to control communal conflict and hesitance to cooperate with authorities.

Speaking to Sudans Post on Thursday, Lakes State acting information minister William Kocji Kerjok, said the governor relieved the chiefs over their failure to respect and cooperate with local administrators.

“The chiefs must cooperate with local government at the county, Payam, and Boma levels. Those chiefs were found not cooperating with their local administrators. They were not uniting their own people,” Kocji said on Thursday.

Kocji warned that any chiefs found not cooperating with local administrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

“If any individual or senior chief or any person at any level is not cooperating, the law will not tolerate it because this time around, we need to forget the past and unite our people,” he said.

He disclosed that the state government has formed an electoral committee to conduct elections of traditional chiefs next months.

“The governor didn’t appoint anybody to replace them but he formed an electoral committee tasked with running local elections in Maleng-Agok Payam. The committee is comprised of Secretary-General of the state, the executive directors, and Payam administrators,” he said.

“The state government is looking for new chiefs who will be elected by their own people to unite them and bring peace as well as to cooperate with local government,” he added.

He said the state government will not intervene in upcoming traditional chiefs’ elections.

“This committee will organize all the procedures for running local elections. The people of Maleng-Agok will select their new chiefs. The government is not going to decide for them but they will decide for themselves whom they think should be the best chiefs,” he said.