A former senior member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), Bor Gatwech Kuany, has declared allegiance to the opposition Real Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (R-SPLM).
Kuany recently resigned from SPLM over alleged neglect and what he said was the government’s failure to implement critical reforms outlined in the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
R-SPLM is a breakaway faction of President Salva Kiir’s SPLM party, and member of the United People’s Alliance (UPA), formerly known as the South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance (SSOMA).
UPA is currently engaging the government in the Kenya-led Tumaini Initiative talks for sustainable peace in South Sudan.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Sunday, Kuany said South Sudan was at a crossroads and that his joining the opposition would amplify the voices demanding reforms.
“Due to the suffering our people are going through, we should find a way of rescuing the country and the people. And this is what Real SPLM and UPA are doing,” he stated.
“The first agreement completely collapsed in 2016 and only 10 percent of the second agreement has been implemented. This is the reason we need to come together as leaders, both in government and opposition, to end the suffering and let the people live in dignity,” he went on.
The opposition official said the country was suffering and that it is incumbent upon every nationalist to rescue it from ‘a total economic collapse’.
“I have decided to join those willing to rescue the country. I did not join for a position. In South Sudan, whether or not you have a position, everyone is suffering,” Kuany stated.
“Fundamentally, there is a need for a political dispensation that puts the interests of the people first,” he added.