The King of Chollo Kingdom, His Majesty Reth Kwongo Dak Padiet has asked residents of Upper Nile State to vote for Salva Kiir as President in the upcoming elections.
King Kwongo made the remarks in Fashoda on Thursday when he received a delegation from the SPLM General Secretariat led by Makuac Aru Lual, Secretary of State Affairs.
Kwongo said President Kiir should be supported overwhelmingly by voters in Upper Nile because that is where he started his military career.
“In the name of Almighty God, I pass greetings to President Kiir, he was and is still a resident of Upper Nile State. I want to tell all the residents of Upper Nile that Salva Kiir is one of our own, he is not a Bahr el Ghazel son,” he said.
“You know he started his military career in Upper Nile as a second lieutenant until he reached the rank of a major, he was in Malakal. So vote for him, lift him this time round since God elevated him to the presidency,” King Kwongo said.
The Chollo King cautioned South Sudanese against ethnic fights. “We should be proud that Salva Kiir is a peace loving president,” he said.
South Sudan is expected to hold elections in December 2024 according to the 2018 Peace Agreement.
Kiir is expected to contest the polls on a Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) ticket. However, regional and international obverses say South Sudan is not ready to hold elections because its leaders have not demonstrated any commitments to uphold the fundamental requirements for holding the polls.
The country is currently governed under a transitional government formed as a result of the peace agreement.
The King of Chollo Kingdom, who just returned to the Chollo Kingdom in Fahoda recently, was airlifted to Juba from Fashoda in December 2022 after being threatened of beheading by an armed group.
President Salva Kiir Mayardit dispatched a plane to evacuate the King after learnig of the threats against the King’s life. He was airlifted to the capital Juba before returning to Chollo Kingdom in Fashoda, Upper Nile after normalcy resumed.
To contact Radio Tamazuj with comments, news tips or information, write to contact@radiotamazuj.org or use the contact form.