Press Statement: Disowning of Mr. Lam Tungwar by Leek Community in Juba

For Immediate Press Release – 29 December 2020

Disowning of Mr. Lam Tungwar Kueiguong by Leek Community in Juba

This serves to inform the general public that there was no election conducted by Leek Community Association in Juba at Star Hotel as Mr. Lam Tungwar claimed, for what happened was a hollow sham to assume power illicitly since he contested nobody but himself. 

What we all know as a Leek community in Juba was the general assembly meeting conducted on 13 December 2020 in Star Hotel for the duration report of Hon. John Dor Majok’s leadership tenure. After the reports of Finance Secretary and General Secretary, Hon. John Dor Majok presented his duration speech, where he dissolved Leek Community Association leadership including the council of elders.

After the speech of John Dor, the process of election of Electoral committee started where John Dor Majok himself became the chairperson of EC election, with Philip Mamun Chap, the former Secretary-General of LCA as the Secretary. The process started with the election of Electoral Committee Chairman and the nomination was done, with Mr. Mathor James Dak and lawyer Gatkuoth Tut as the two competitors. When the counting started, the results were disputed twice and in the third round, the counting was done by National Security personnel, and results were given to Hon. John Dor as the chairperson and Mr. Philip Mamun as the secretary to announce the results to the General Assembly so that the process of electing the remaining six members of the Electoral Committee should be done. According to the first two counting and their results where some former secretaries of Leek Community Association participated in the counting, and the third round counted by National Security personnel, the Electoral Committee Chairmanship was legally won by Mr. Mathor James Dak with a total of 153 votes against Lawyer Gatkuoth Tut Mut who got 142 votes (See the attached). 

However, Hon. John Dor Majok declined to announce Mr. James Mathor as a winner for reasons best known to him and was taken out of the election hall after by Hon. Mary Paul Ngundeng without announcing the results and that created a power vacuum in the LCA. hence, with the power vacuum created by John Dor Majok after his abrupt departure without an Electoral committee in place, there is no responsible body that has the power to call a General Assembly meeting as stipulated in the Leek Community Association constitution and for this reason, anything beyond this is not only assimilation of the election but also “an illegal alliance and unsystematic theft of electoral procedures” who was trying to grasp Leek Community Association’s leadership through the illicit way.

On Tuesday, 15 December 2020, a five-member committee was formed to meet and brief Hon. Dr. Joseph Manytwil Wejang, the governor of Unity State on what happened at the General Assembly Meeting scheduled for 13 December 2020 and its negative future implications on the community. Their names are as follows:

1. Mr. Gabriel Matut Maliah

2. Mr. Gatkuoth Kun Dar

3. Mr. Mayuong Bath Ruei

4. Mr. Philip Mamun Chap

5. Mr. Wicmuon Joseph Geng

The committee had a fruitful discussion with the governor at his office in Unity State Coordination office in Juba, Hai Thoura. For the interest of the community, the governor advised us and the group of Mr. Lam Tunguar to go for genuine dialogue on how to resolve the matter amicably. As we left the governor’s office, we went direct to the office where Mr. Lam Tunguar, Salaam Maluet and Hon. Gattiek Both were sitting and told them the message and instruction of Mr. governor. After lengthy discussions, we agreed on the dialogue and scheduled a meeting of the two groups (Lam Group & The coalition of Leek Unity and Reconciliation) For Thursday, 17 December 2020.

When the meeting took place in Hai Mauna Classic Hotel, Lam Group presented impossible demand and that indicated their readiness in pursuing illegal means to get to the community chairperson, which was supported by Hon. John Dor Majok in our last meeting at his residence on 21 December 2020. The dialogue which we initiated and supported by our highly respected governor, Hon. Dr. Joseph Manytwil was thrown into the dustbin by Hon. John Dor and Lam group, through their illegal General Assembly meeting,which led to the formation of unconstitutional EC and the subsequent endorsement of Mr. Lam Tunguar.

Uncle Hon. John Dor Majok with all our respect to him and his long-term experiences in governments has made a grave constitutional mistake by calling a general assembly meeting giving himself a title of chairmanship he left for more than one week. Where on earth has it happened? It is something ridiculous for a community leader to act politically, forgetting his integrity and image in the public. The General Assembly Meeting would have been called after a consensus reached by representatives of the General assembly in consultation with the former chairman and a neutral body as agreed.

Furthermore, article 18 clause 8 of the LCA constitution regulated the schedules of the general assembly meetings in which it states “that notice and agenda of ordinary meetings shall be given at least 21 days prior to the scheduled date or at least 10 days for an extra-ordinary meeting prior to the set date. In contravention of this constitution, the time frame given by Hon. John Dor Majok in both meetings (when he was still a legal chairman and again when he imposed himself after he stepped down) didn’t meet the requirements of the constitution thus; it significantly signifies that the false claimed election victory has no place not only in the public eye but also in the eye of the rule of law.

Given the above General Assembly Meeting procedures, what happened on 22 December 2020 when the notice for the General Assembly meeting was written and sent to social media on 20 December 2020 by the former chairman was unconstitutional. How would someone who stepped down as the Chairperson of the association since 13 December 2020 call for a General Assembly Meeting with the same title? Who gave him such authority? Has he forgotten the legal procedures for dissolving any office and procedures set forth in the Association’s governing body? The coalition of Leek Unity and Reconciliation would like to call this exercise the “constitutional illiteracy of the highest order and unsystematic theft of electoral procedures” and the doers must be punished in the court of law.

Surprisingly and shamefully, Hon. John Dor Majok, the former chairman of LCA who had stepped down officially with his whole executive body on 13th December 2020, called for another general assembly meeting on 22 December 2020, still calling himself the Chairman of Leek Community Association, where they elected a new Chairman of Electoral Committee and other six members. 

So on 22 December 2020, Hon. John Dor Majok and his group of Mr. Lam Tunguar supporters had their illegal meeting conducted in Star Hotel, where they elected their new Chairman of Electoral Committee called Mr. Daniel Dhil Gony and other 6 members in contrary to the constitutional election of Mr. James Mathor, in their attempt to grasp Leek Community Association’s Leadership through the illicit way. Furthermore, they unconstitutionally elected one Electoral Committee member in absentia, which is another problem in procedural requirements of Electoral committee elections. Interestingly, two members of the illegal Electoral Committee resign the day after their nomination after discovering that the whole process was a fraud to install Lam Tunguar when Uncle. Daniel Dhiel announced that the election will take place only a day after their nomination which is a gross violation of the constitution. Thus, the promulgated election suffered from legal validations which automatically quashed the entire legal procedures set forth in the Association’s governing document.

Surprisingly, Hon, John Dor Majok was unconstitutionally present during the fabricated electoral committee election at Star Hotel of which they thought would cover-up the illegality of the processes forgetting that a prudence man or woman would judge that, a chairman who dissolved the entire organs of the leadership including his executive committee in which he chairs, has no legal mandate to presides over any LCA activities thereafter.

Cognizant that, the constitution provided fourteen (14) days for electoral committee to set rules for election and these rules to be displayed to the members of the general assembly in a public place where they can access, read and give their views on them, in addition to approval of the candidates and their running mates. These didn’t happen in the fake endorsement of Mr. Lam Tungwar that gives clear information to the public that he was not elected but was made himself a judge of his own cause. The illegal Electoral committee was formed on 22 December 2020 and the endorsement by his supporters was on 24 December 2020. Where are the electoral procedures here as mentioned in the association constitution? This is a clear indication of who Mr. Lam Tunguar and his supporters leave alone what they should do to the Leek Community in South Sudan and abroad given their constitutional illiteracies and lack of focus

In conclusion, the general assembly meeting called on 22 December 2020 for the re-election of the Electoral Committee by Hon. John Dor Majok, the former Chairman of Leek Community Association, as he officially stepped down on Sunday, 13 December 2020 was unconstitutional and therefore the illegal procedures that followed including the one-sided endorsement of Mr. Lam Tunguar on 24 December 2020 were unconstitutional and will amount to a court case against the former Chairman of Leek Community Association, illegal chairman of Electoral Committee and the self-proclaimed chairman of Leek Community Association given their intentional violation of the community institution.

In conclusion, the general assembly meeting called on 22 December 2020 for the re-election of the Electoral Committee by Hon. John Dor Majok, the former Chairman of Leek Community Association, as he officially stepped down on Sunday, 13 December 2020 was unconstitutional and therefore all the illegal procedures that followed including the one-sided endorsement of Mr. Lam Tunguar on 24 December 2020 were unconstitutional and will amount to a court case against the former Chairman of Leek Community Association, illegal chairman of Electoral Committee and the self-proclaimed chairman of Leek Community Association given their intentional violation of the community institution.

We, the undersigned people of Leek Community in Juba, would like to inform and urge all government and private institutions to distance themselves from the concocted Chairman of the Leek Community Association (LCA) known as Mr. Lam Tungwar Kueiguong who assumed and crowned himself as LCA chairman. We also inform the general public and government institutions that, the bonafide Chairman of Electoral committee Mr. Mathor James Dak as envisaged by the constitution is working in the popular interest of Leek Community as a whole to call for a general assembly meeting for Leek community in Juba for the Next General Assembly Meeting. We also authorize the following personalities to sue Hon. John Dor Majok, Mr. Dhil Gony, and Mr. Lam Tunguar to court if they don’t reverse illegal action given their constitutional coup d’état that led to one-sided endorsement without the participation of the Coalition of Leek Unity and Reconciliation.

1. Hon. Buai Keake Turoal

2. Hon. Kur Yai Nop

3. Mr. Mayuong Bath Ruei

4. Mr. Batheng Babuoth 

We also urged once more Hon. John Dor Majok to reconsider the grave mistakes he committed by canceling all he had done unconstitutionally, as he should be mindful of his personal image and reputation regardless of being a politician with other considerations and interests. The coalition of law-abiding citizens will do whatever it takes to defend the constitution and bring the violators to book. 

Best Regards,

Mr. Matut Maliah Gatdet

Spokesman,

The Coalition of Leek Unity and Reconciliation (CLUR)

Cc: Government institutions, Republic of South Sudan

Cc: Ministry of Justice, Republic of South Sudan

Cc: All private institutions, Republic of South Sudan

Cc: Nuer Community Associations & other communities in South Sudan and abroad.

You can the author via his email address: matutmaliah@ymail.com

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