Riek Machar Dismisses Taban Deng from SPLM-IO, removes him from the cabinet
“James Gatdet Dak: FVP Dr. Riek Machar has dismissed Taban Deng Gai from the SPLM/SPLA (IO). He has also withdrawn and recalled him from Ministry of Mining.”
By PaanLuel Wel, Juba, South Sudan
July 22, 2016 (SSB) — Dr. Riek Machar has dismissed Taban Deng Ghai from the SPLM-IO and also removed him from the ministry of Mining. This comes a day after the SPLM-IO politburo reportedly dismissed Riek from the position of the 1st Vice President and replaced him with Taban Deng Ghai.
It also comes within 12 hours since President Kiir issued a 48-hour ultimatum for Riek Machar to report back to Juba for work or risk replacement.
This scenario reminds one of what happened during the time of the Nasir group. By then, Kerubino Kuanyin and William Nyuon had a bitter fallout with Riek Machar.
They dismissed Riek from the Nasir group and declared themselves the new leaders, claiming previous seniority from Mother SPLM/A. Riek Machar in turn dismissed them from the party and from their respective positions.
Taban Deng is a Nuer from unity state just like Riek, and was the former IO chief negotiator during the IGAD compromised peace agreement. Taban is a cousin to Angelina Teny, the wife of Riek Machar.
This is the third political splits between Riek and his brother-in law Taban since 1991. The two men were bitter rivals in Unity state until 2013 when Taban was dismissed from the governorship of Unity state by President Kiir.
According to report, the genesis of the current fallout between Riek and Taban was occasioned by Riek’s failure to appoint Taban as minister for petroleum. The ministry was also being eyed by Riek’s wife, Angelina Teny. Apparently, as a way out, the ministry was given to Dak Duop Bishiok, a Jikany Nuer from Nasir, who is currently with Taban in Juba.
Since the start of the civil war in December 2013, Riek Machar has fallen out with military leaders such as Peter Gadet, Gathoth Gatkuoth, Gabriel Tanginya, etc. and political leaders like Gabriel Changson and now Taban Deng Ghai.
The whereabouts of Riek Machar is still unknown since he was dislodged from his base in Juba on July 11th, and then lost contact with his ministers in Juba about a week ago. The dismissal of Taban was announced on Facebook by James Gadet Dak, the spokesperson of Riek Machar, who is based in Nairobi, Kenya.
There are doubts that the message actually came from Riek, with some people speculating that it was just manufactured by James Gadet in the name of Riek Machar so as to preempt the swearing in ceremony of Taban Deng as the new 1st Vice President of the TGONU.
It is not clear who is now in charge of SPLM-IO or how President Kiir would react to the dismissal of Taban Deng from the cabinet.
Is it legal for Riek Machar to dismiss Taban on Facebook? Will Taban accept his removal? Will Riek also accept his dimissal? If not, will President Kiir go with Taban and the IO leadership in Juba or will he go with the pronouncements of Riek Machar in the bush?
How will JMEC, IGAD and Troika react to the split within the IO: siding with Riek group in the bush (IO-in the Bush, shortened to IO-IB) or with the Taban group in Juba(IO-in Juba, shortened to IO-IJ)?
What is certain though is that the disintegration of the SPLM-IO, which mirror the death of the Nasir Group, is going to undermine the realization of peace in South Sudan.
Of the original IO, there is now IO for Riek, for Taban, for Peter Gadet, for Gathoth Gakuoth, for Changson and who knows, for whoever might emerge tomorrow.
It is understood that in the event Taban Deng Ghai is sworn in as 1st VP, then Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth would be appointed as the new minister for mining, to replace Taban Deng.
The reason why it is Taban replacing Riek instead of the party deputy leader, Alfred Lado Gore, is because the peace agreement states that the speaker of the national assembly would be an Equatorian.
That seems to suggest that, for the transitional period, a Nuer would be the leader of the IO and a Dinka for the gov’t. Thus, Lado Gore can’t assume the leadership of the IO without messing up the delicate tribocratic balances of the IGAD peace accord.
The opinion expressed here is solely the view of the writer. The veracity of any claim made are the responsibility of the author, not PaanLuel Wël: South Sudanese Bloggers (SSB) website. If you want to submit an opinion article or news analysis, please email it to paanluel2011@gmail.com. SSB do reserve the right to edit material before publication. Please include your full name, email address, city and the country you are writing.
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