Rebuttal to Hon. Taban Abel Aguek’s False Utterances against Governor Matur Chut
By Hon. Shadrack Bol Machok, Rumbek, South Sudan
Sunday, June 17, 2018 (PW) — First and foremost I would like to bring to the attention of all that H. E. Maj. Gen. Matur Chut Dhuol; Governor of Western Lakes State and who was also the most capable and strong Governor of the defunct Lakes State is a man of peace. He aims at seeing peace and stability prevailing in the region not only the State that he is governing, taking into consideration that he had once been responsible for the lives and properties of the people of greater Yirol now Eastern Lakes and the lives and properties of the people of greater Cueibet which is now Gok State.
Based on these facts H. E. Matur Chut Dhuol upon realizing that our civil population in the region are finishing themselves at gunpoint took a bold step by requesting H. E. The President of the Republic to intervene with declaration of state of emergency in the whole of Lakes. This was done on the 8th of December 2017; upon which H. E. The President in consultation with SPLM Politburo accepted and subsequently declared State of emergency in the three states of greater Lakes and directed Bilpam to deploy SPLA forces in the region in order to simultaneously disarm the armed civilians in Western lakes, Eastern lakes and Gok state.
H. E. Matur Chut Dhuol is not selling Eastern Lakes State as stated by Hon. Taban Abel but rather he is telling the truth about the attitude of the authority of of Eastern Lakes State in the person of Gen. Mangar Buong Aluenge the Governor of Eastern Lakes who is so much reluctant in responding to the State of emergency terms of reference especially disarmament. And that is why the civil population in his area of jurisdiction who are at large with their illegal firearms continue to raid cattle from Western Lakes on regular basis and killing of vulnerable civilians.
It is has been recorded that since February up-to June cattle raiding expeditions apart from robbery and cattle theft being carried out on the people of Eastern Bahr naam, Paloc and part of Western Bahr naam by the armed civilians from Eastern Lakes have reached fourteen times citing the major one which took place at Makila cattle camp i area between Wulu County along naam river at the end of April 2018 in which a follow up was made for the recovery of these raided cattle by the Minister of Local Government, Security Advisor and Commissioner of Eastern Bahr Naam county with the authority of Eastern Lakes but was fruitless.
Some of those raided cattle were taken to the auction in Yirol before the watchful eye of the government delegation from Western Lakes State.
It was three weeks ago that UNMISS took a container to Eastern Lakes to be used for keeping guns that are going to be connected which is an indication that disarmament had never been going on since the declaration of state of emergency on the 11th of December 2017.
Jima Rihan and the like have not collected any gun but they only dwell on dividing the looted cows from Western Lakes State among themselves and more evidents shall be made available further should the need arise. So the commanders in Yirol are disarming looted cows not illegal firearms.
Citing taking away guns from the civilians peacefully does not hold any water at all as stated by Hon. Taban Abel. The collection of guns in the situation of the State of emergency is more forceful than peaceful and that does not mean fighting the civilians. And that is why the exercise has been very successful in Western Lakes giving a sigh of relief to our Civil population at last.
The youth who recently went and raided cattle in Atet crossed from Toich to the area of Eastern Lakes and started to acquire guns from there and those are the same guns they have used for raiding cattle in Atet and the government of Western Lakes State will take those guns away from their hands very soon…….the process had already started and the raided cattle will be recovered and be returned to the rightful owners in Eastern Lakes.
In nutshell Gen. Mangar Buong Aluenge is a very good army commander but lacking Civil Administration ingredients but Gen. Matur Chut Dhuol is both a professional army Commander and a well experienced Civil Administrator and that is the difference. Gok State is doing disarmament simultaneously with us and that is why our people in the two states continue to enjoy their restored tranquility being a golden fruit of the State of emergency.
The government of Western Lakes State continue to make a strong voice on disarming the civil population in Eastern Lakes through National intervention.
The author, Shadrack Bol Machok, is the Honorable State Minister of Information and Communications in Rumbek, Government of Western Lakes State.
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