January 24, 2007 (JUBA) — In a blast of harsh rhetoric, The governor
of the Unity State lashed out at the Vice President of southern Sudan government
accusing him of disseminating rumors on corruption and other allegations to
move him and appoint his wife as governor of the oil rich state.
SPLA minister says South Sudan not concerned by hijacked weapons
Friday 25 January 2008 05:00
Appointed following the signing of the CPA, as Unity State governor in 2005,
Taban Deng was a senior SPLA commander, and was governor of Unity State from
1997 to 2000 when he briefly defected to Khartoum to join Riek Machar who had
signed in April 1997, a peace deal with Khartoum under a process that the ruling
party described as "Peace from Within.".
Taban Deng said in an interview published by Juba based The Citizen that Riek
Machar "is “the source of my problems." He added the cause of
this hatred that when the Khartoum Peace Agreement collapsed he forced Machar
to join the SPLM and disband his political organisation.
“I pushed him and we went back to SPLA/M,”…. Riek was not
happy, but there was no way for him to oppose.” Taban said.
He further added “I was of the view that we go to SPLA and become faithful
cadres but Riek was of the view of maintaining his movement (United Democratic
Salvation Front-UDSF) within the SPLA/M. I managed to persuade him and he dropped
the idea of UDSF in the SPLM/A.”
Taban further added that Riek has no loyalty to the southern Sudan ruling party,
the SPLM. He accused Riek of supporting traditional leaders of Nuer tribe "who
where appointed by the National Congress Party" to destabilise the authority
of the SPLM in the Unity State.
He said that the vice-president of the southern Sudan government wants to name
his wife, the current federal State Minister for Energy and Mining Angelina
Teny, as governor "and that is why she is busy transporting Nuer chiefs
from Khartoum to be hosted in Juba where they campaign against me."
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