South Sudan lawmaker resigns in protest of government corruption

JUBA – A prominent member of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) has resigned from his position as a Member of Parliament and Commissioner in the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), citing widespread corruption and government failure to address the needs of the people.

In a letter addressed to Vice President for Service Delivery Cluster, Hussein Abdelbagi Akol, Mabior Riiny Lual expressed his disappointment with the current government and its failure to fulfill its promises to the South Sudanese people.

“We have a country where about 70% of the population is illiterate and there is a chronic lack of quality schools and hospitals and people are dying from hunger and preventable diseases,” Lual wrote. “In my opinion, our daily thinking should be preoccupied with how we can save our people from poverty.”

Lual criticized the government for prioritizing the personal enrichment of its leaders over the welfare of the people. He pointed to the fact that many government officials fly abroad for treatment of preventable diseases while millions of South Sudanese lack access to basic healthcare.

“I came to realize that we are misleaders and South Sudanese are unlucky to be led by political conmen,” Lual said. “I had sincerely believed that opposition was going to change the political trajectory of our country by opposing failed SPLM led government and be the voice of the people. This has turned out not to be the case.”

Lual and Hussein Abdelbagi Akol are both from the South Sudan Patriotic Movement (SSPM), a member of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA). The opposition consortium is a signatory to the revitalized peace agreement signed in 2018.

Lual’s resignation comes just two days after a prominent veteran SPLA commander, Garang Mabil, criticized the SPLM, calling it a “cocktail” of diverse interests that no longer represents its revolutionary origins.

Mabil was speaking on Friday during the funeral of SPLA veteran Bior Aswad where he expressed doubts about the party’s current direction and commitment to the revolutionary ideals that defined the SPLM during its fight for independence.