A South Sudanese Catholic Bishop has blasted the governor of Yei River State David Lokonga Moses for allegedly misleading the people of his state with false reports that all the roads leading to Yei are secure and open for civilians and aid workers.
Last week, Governor Lokonga announced that the Yei-Kaya road was open for citizens and that a large number of displaced people returned to Yei.
Bishop Erkolano Lodu Tombe of Yei said the state government has failed to provide correct information to the public. “We are always with the public and we know what is happening with our local people in Yei River state,” he said.
The religious leader further said the people of Yei are still living and moving in fear, adding that false reports that the roads are open have resulted into abductions and killings of innocent civilians.
“This opening of roads is that sometimes we tend to tell lies. I am sorry to say this, the roads are not yet open and these people are moving in fear,” he said.
“We have incidents of people who went out because roads are said to be open have not come back and we hear that some of them have been killed,” he added.
Bishop Tombe challenged the state government’s report that a large number of the conflict-displaced families have returned homes after the signing of peace in the state.
“This issue of saying people are returning in big numbers is a lie. I want to go and see where this big number of people has come, where they are being put and I want to see their situation. Big number of people being reported to be coming, we should not exaggerate the reality on what is not happening otherwise we should not tell lies,” he said.