Malong’s Sacking Sparks Fears President Salva Kiir on Tuesday dismissed Paul Malong as the army chief of staff of South Sudan. 11 May 2017 Malong’s Sacking Sparks Fears Paul Malong [Getty Images]
By Agoth Abraham/Aweil and Mabor Riak/Rumbek AWEIL, 10 May 2017 [Gurtong]-Malong was sacked via a presidential decree that was announced on Tuesday on the national television by the President himself. General James Ajongo Mawut, the former deputy chief of general staff for administration and finance, is now the head of the armed forces. Meanwhile, in Aweil the sacking of Malong has sparked intense fear among residents who say there will be escalating insecurity following the move made by the President. Abraham Wol Kom is one of the residents in Aweil. “The presidential decree which relieved the chief of general Staff is very surprising and it’s unusual. The decree even will increase the current political crises. It may spark further insecurity and splits across the nation and as I speak now, Juba has been deserted and the chief of General staff has left with a huge number of army which could have provided protection in this nation.” Said Abraham. Deng Jiel Mangok is another resident who said that the sacking of Malong will destabilize the security situation in the country. According to Jiel the decision was politically motivated. “The removal of the chief of general staff will destabilize the security situation. I don’t support this idea because there is a political motive somewhere,” he said. Meanwhile, Aweil’s government spokesperson, Hon. James Wieu Mayol told the public to remain calm and urged everyone to refrain from any violence. He said the decision of the President is just a normal change in the government adding that the security situation in the country is under control. Malong is widely regarded by some as being the mastermind of the fighting that erupted in Juba, last July, killing hundreds of people. However, the government of Eastern Lakes Minister of information and Communication Abraham Majak Makur confirmed to the press after many hours of discussion with General Malong Awan yesterday said he will return to Juba without proceeding to Awiel. “The Governor of Eastern Lakes Bor Wutchok held a meeting with Gen. Paul and the meeting was successful” confirmed the State Minister of Information. The Government official spokesperson pointed out that the former chief of general staff was not planning to rebel against the current government in Juba. The former General Chief of Staff of SPLA, Paul Malong Awan while in Yirol Congratulated the appointment of his predecessor, James Ajongo Mawut. “The new chief of general can even perform better than me”, said General Malong Awan. General Paul Malong who left Juba with his bodyguards on Tuesday evening after being removed from his position sparked a lot of panic in different States of the country. Posted in: Home, Governance -- To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/southsudankob View this message at https://groups.google.com/d/msg/southsudankob/topic-id/message-id For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14orsae5dKj89uhkAeXGmNcupNO-DuTEWJLVA%2BJMWNmzNRw%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
