Citizens in Bor of South Sudan’s Jonglei State have expressed varying opinions about the return of first vice president Riek Machar to Juba.
Daborah Anai, a mother of five, said she has no problem with the coming of the former rebel leader who claimed to have opened a new chapter with President Salva Kiir.
“He has come and has found people suffering, but we will see if this country will change and if he has changed his heart,” Anai said.
Anai said she had joy that Machar returned and said if he repents for his deeds then she will be happy.
“We don’t wish that he stays out…God tells us about confession and let him tell us why he destroyed the homes and tell us that he has stopped it,” she said.
Mabut Deng Lual, a resident of Bor, accused Machar of causing the civil war in South Sudan and said if the first vice president has come with peace then he has no problem with him. Mabut also recalled the Bor Massacre of 1991 when thousands were killed by Machar’s forces.
“The cause of the problem here in South Sudan is Riek. If he has come and said there is peace then we will see, we the youth of South Sudan, because he is the cause of the problem,” Deng said.
“Peace can’t be said with the words of mouth, it can be seen in your work,” Deng said.
Another Bor resident, Bol Makeer, said prices of commodities that were high before the coming of Machar are now cheaper.
“For sure the coming of Dr. Riek Machar to South Sudan as a whole has changed a lot of things, before his coming, there were a lot of problems that have been facing people…for example the economic has disturbed us here in Jonglei but his coming now has changed a little bit of something in the market, the prices of the commodities is not the same as it was and this is one major thing that Dr. Riek Machar has changed,” Bol told Radio Tamazuj.
“His coming has silenced the guns, there is no more killing…am happy now,” he added.
During the 2013 crisis, Jonglei was one of the states heavily affected by the war. The town of Bor was destroyed and the United Nations compound there was attacked. Many civilians were killed in the violence forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes.
Radio Tamazuj Photo: Bor citizens in Jonglei state