Thony Community of Tonj: An Open Letter to President Kiir
An open letter to the President of the Republic of South Sudan
29th March, 2024
H.E General Salva Kiir Mayardit,
President and Grand commander of the Republic of South Sudan
Your Excellency,
Saturday, 30 March 2024 (PW) — We, Thony community both noticeable and concerned intellectuals would like to extend our warmest greetings to you in your highest and esteemed office.
We hope this open letter finds you well and in strong spirit. We write to express our appreciation in how you are dealing with the affairs of our nation. You are an icon of hope to all South Sudanese. Your commitment to good service delivery is commendable and we are grateful for your efforts to ensure that every citizen understands the steps being taken to improve our economy.
Dear Excellency, we acknowledge your self-dedication, commitment, determination and paramount service delivery for the purpose of fostering a just, peaceful and prosperous living.
Dear President, permit us to use this public medium, in place of face-to-face meeting, to convey our message to you because we all know that right now, you are extremely busy with the affairs of the state.
We are constrained to write you this open letter Mister President for issues of concern presented herein. We decided to make it an open letter because the issuesare weighty and must be greatly worrisome to all Thony community members both at home and abroad. Since the issues are of momentous concern to all of us, it must be of a great concern to you, Mr. President and we believe it is worth of your attention.
Your Excellency, your dedication to national services delivery and commitment for the betterment of our beloved nation South Sudan can’t be overemphasized. We acknowledge your imminent suffering in fighting to bring peace in South Sudan by bringing a RevitalizedPeace Agreement which led to the formation of Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGONU) that later adapted the New Roadmap due to some outstanding provisions or chapters in R-ACRSS which aim at conducting general elections in December, 2024.
Your Excellency, Thony community of Tonj South County is confident that under your wise leadership, South Sudan can reach a new height.
In this regard, we reaffirm our commitment to supporting you throughout your administration dear President.
In line with the above, we would like to register our displeasures, dissatisfaction and discontent in how Tonj South County Commissioner in person of Hon. Marko Agor Malang Agor is handling our issues.
Mr. President,
It is with heart full of sorrow and sadness that we write to you. No true and honest Thony community member is happy with the state of things in Tonj South county under the leadership of the current Commissioner in person of Marko Agor Malang Agor.
We would like to bring to your attention that we, Thony community both at home and diaspora afterdeliberations and wider consultation agreed by consensus to withdraw our support and trust from the current sitting Commissioner of Tonj South County as well as state government of Warrap state due to the following reasons:
1. The recent killing of Akot Majok Aruop on date 15th/03/2024 by the police in a brutal way;
2. The killing of Madhel Ngong Chan;
3. The killing of Late Journalist Marko Agei MakoorChol and still county government or state government did not put efforts to search for the culprits since 01/07/2020;
4. Continuous and rampant killings of Thony youths by the government forces whenever they travelled to Thony area under the oppressive government of Tonj South County of the sitting commissioner;
5. Heavy taxations imposed on Thony community alone by the current Commissioner of Tonj South County. Each registered member is forced to pay 8,500 SSP which is contrary to the legal circular issued by the Ministry of Local Government and Law Enforcement Agencies. In the legal circular, each taxpayer is told to pay 2,000 SSP. In this regard, 13 chiefs were arrested and imprisoned in Akon-cok and Wanhalel South of Manyang-ngokPayam under Tonj South County and the question remains “Why Thony community taxation fee differs from the rest of other communities?”
6. Inadequate distributions of resources such as health facilities, roads, schools and even administrative offices. And also, Thony community is an isolated community. There is no ambulance for emergency cases more especially the pregnant mothers, the sick people and casual cases to ease the transportation or emergency uplift of the disadvantaged people;
7. Misrepresentation in state government. We, ThonyCommunity have no Member of Parliament (MP) at the state level since the creation of South Sudan up to date and we also have no Constituency created by the government since 2008 census. Thony community is the 2nd largest community after Apuk-juwiir in Tonj South County and still don’t have representative in the state Parliament. This is the reason why the county and state have a continuous killing and carrying out of subversive activities in Thony Community as well as the denial of social amenities in form of developmental activities in the area. Because of lacking an MP to represent us in the state government, no one is setting the motions to rescue ailing situations which are always happening against us by our own government;
8. Furthermore, Thony community has been badly represented at the state level in the executive branch of government since the Defunct Tonj state up to the current Warrap state government. The current Warrap state spokesperson has always been giving biased reports in Warrap state. In recent incident that happened in Manyang-ngok at a place called Akon-cok, he biasedly reported thatthe Late Akot Majook Aruop was killed at the cattle camp for criminals. This was not true. There is no cattle camp for criminals. It is not existing anywhere in Thony land. This reminded Thonycommunity in the previous year of 2020 whereHon. Wol Mayom, the then Information Minister for the Defunct Tonj State reported biasedly an incident which claimed the life of the late paramount chief by name Albino MawienMalualdit who was killed in a cold blood while sleeping. This government spokesperson reported that the chief was killed by unknown gunmen;
9. Your Excellency, as Thony community, we are bringing this contentious point to your attention that Thony community is being forced to provide logistical support to the army (SSPDF) and regular forces deployed in the area, and yet the vulnerable and disarmed community is not given protection of their lives and properties against external aggressions;
10. The police personnel were sent under the directives of the commissioner. They ended up killing an innocent young man who was taking his cows for water. The report was concocted and presented in different way that they killed the criminal;
11. Your Excellency, the subsequent killings of innocent citizens of Thony Community has been a routine since 2016 where the government of first administration of the Defunct Tonj state killed huge number of Thony youths, elders and as wellas children which summed up to a total of 22 people in that year. This was followed by a massive destruction and demolition of houses by setting them on fire in the areas of Joor and Bal-lek. With the above, your Excellency, there has never been any blood compensation made to Thony Community nor clear reasons for killing these innocent civilians.
Community core resolutions:
1. The community resolved that Thony community would not be part and parcel of both the county and state government;
2. All government vehicle for the county and state should not trespass in Thony land without permissions from community leadership. The vehicle allowed are NGOS and commercial ones;
3. That the community would only report any issue of concern to the national government under the leadership of the mighty SPLM;
4. The community condemned the killing of AkotMajook Aruop and called for “an eye for an eye” as stipulated in the Green Book instead of an ordinary blood compensation;
5. The community finally resolved that Thonycommunity would administratively remain alone till the leadership changes at county level.
It is worthy of your notice Mr. President,
For these crimes especially the recent killing of AkotMajook Aruop this month, no one is arrested nor punished in absentia by the Commissioner of Tonj South County. We need rule of Law to be executed over this commissioner because he was the one who sent these police men.
We hope you will give this letter the seriousness it deserves by kindly acceding to our demand. It is our belief that your prompt response to the raised issues above will restore our confidence in the government of Tonj South county.
We shall continue praying to God to give you the sagacity and strength to fight and defend the nation from saboteurs.
Finally, we look forward to your attention to this matter of concern.
Long live SPLM!
Long live Mr. President!
Long live South Sudanese!
Long live the Great Republic of South Sudan!
Sincerely,
Signed
Mark Paker Manyual, …………………………………….. Abraham Nhial Deng………………….
Thony community leader ThonyYouth Leader
1. Paramount chief and other chiefs:
I. Sultan Kuel BaknyangMadhok…………………………………………………………………
II. Sultan Akol Nginy-piuMachar………………………………………………………………….
III. Sultan Dhal Yak Toc…………………………………………………………………………………
IV. Sultan Mabior AgothAkook……………………………………………………………………
Cc: Presidency
Cc: SPLM secretary General Comrade Peter Lam Both
Cc: South Sudan Human rights Commission
Cc: state government
Cc: county government
Cc: all security organs
Cc: I support President Kiir’s page
Cc: all media Houses
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