Professor Joshua Otor Akol, head of the Chollo (Shilluk) tribe intellectuals in South Sudan’s capital Juba says the Establishment Order issued by President Salva Kiir establishing new states violates their rights as a tribe.
In a statement Wednesday, Akol stated that Chollo intellectuals were never consulted on the division of their territory into two parts. He added that the Shilluk kingdom cannot be divided into two parts in Upper Nile State.
He was referring to Salva Kiir’s latest decree separating Upper Nile State into Western Nile State, an exclusively Shilluk territory, and Eastern Nile State, where historically substantial Shilluk populations have also lived in Malakal, Renk and elsewhere. A third subdivision of the current Upper Nile State, Latjoor State, consists of Nuer territory.
A map released with Kiir’s decree also appears to divide Panyikang County from the rest of the would-be ‘Western Nile State’ by creating a corridor between Malakal and the South Kordofan border belonging to Eastern Nile State. This would cut Western Nile State in two.
The community leader questioned why Eastern Nile State would take territory on the west bank of the river as deep into 40 km into Chollo territory.
Akol also questioned the wisdom of putting the new state capital at Kodok, pointing to possible disharmony between the government and Chollo Kingdom in the proposed new capital of ‘Western Nile State’ in Kodok area.
“People are looking for change in order to take towns to villages, so the creation of new states will help in providing job opportunities for citizens,” he said. “However, any change creating more conflicts will not serve the interest of the community.”
At present, the west bank of Upper Nile State is largely controlled by the opposition ‘Aguelek Forces’ of General Johnson Olony, a Shilluk commander.
File photo: Chollo dancers at a wedding in Malakal (Radio Tamazuj)