JUBA – South Sudan’s main armed opposition group, SPLM-IO, led by the country’s First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny, has applauded and hailed the opposition group’s military sector one commander, General Johnson Olony Thabo, for refusing to leave the group and join the government under President Salva Kiir Mayardit who has for the last several months refused to appoint him as governor of Upper Nile state after the SPLM-IO nominated him.
Over the weekend, a high-level delegation from South Sudan comprising the director of the country’s notorious National Security Service (NSS), General Akol Koor Kuc, and President Salva Kiir’s security advisor, Tutkew Gatluak, met Olony in a bid to convince him to leave Machar and join the South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF) in return for a more senior position in the country’s army.
However, senior opposition officials with direct knowledge of the meeting told Sudans Post on Monday that the meeting between the visiting delegation and Olony ended in failure after the controversial opposition commander condemned President Salva Kiir Mayardit in presence of the delegation for refusing to appoint him as governor of Upper Nile state, something he told the delegation, was a blatant violation of the revitalized peace agreement.
In a statement Monday evening, Dut Majokdit, a member of the SPLM-IO National Liberation Council (NLC) and a close supporter of Machar welcomed the decision by General Johnson Olony describing him as an iconic opposition commander for refusing what he calls a conspiracy by the regime in Juba to try to derail the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.
“We congratulate General Johnson Olony for standing firm with the SPLM/A-IO leadership and for refusing to join the conspiracy against the very peace agreement that has achieved relative calm in the country,” the senior opposition official wrote in a statement to Sudans Post after General Johnson Olony’s rejection of defection from the SPLM-IO.
Senior opposition officials said General Akol and Tut Gatluak thought to lure Olony in return for being appointed for commander of the SSPDF’s sector one in Upper Nile state, at which point General Johnson Olony asked them what was special this time when President Kiir refused to appoint him as governor of Upper Nile state over claims that he is a warmonger.
Majokdit said the rejection by Olony is the right decision for him to take, pointing to Kiir’s recent rejection of appointing him as governor saying the South Sudanese president refused to appoint General Olony as nominated by the SPLM-IO just to frustrate the opposition commander and then defect from the main armed opposition group.
“They had rejected you for the last nine months as a part of a political campaign to frustrate you and blame, in the process, Dr. Riek Machar Teny for refusing to appoint you so they have the accuse to approach you to defect to the SSPDF. Your appointment was turned down as the SPLM-IO nominee for the Governorship Upper Nile State and today you’re told to be appointed as Upper Nile sector one commander of the SSPDF if you abandon Dr. Riek Machar and join the SSPDF. Why do they refused to accept your appointment as governor in the first place?” the senior opposition official asked.
“I applaud you for standing with the truth and it’s time for the government to focus and accept to implement the security arrangements and formation of the state and local governments, instead of frustrating the process while they watch as our people suffer to death because of their actions,” he concluded.