The Commissioner of Jur River County in South Sudan’s Western Bahr el Ghazal state calls upon Luo youth to embrace dialogue with the state government to end a standoff over the naming of the new bridge.
The government of Western Bahr el Ghazal State on Monday said it was not even remotely involved in the naming of the new Chinese-constructed Bridge on a section of the Jur River in Wau.
This came in the wake of a petition submitted by the Luo Youth Union to the state assembly regarding the former’s displeasure with the choice of the name of deceased veteran politician Clement Mboro for the bridge.
Last week, signage bearing the name “Clement Mboro Bridge” was installed on the bridge sparking controversy and leading to the arrest and detention of the deputy chairperson of the Luo You Union, Santino Mdut, on charges of inciting violence.
In 2020, China offered to build a bridge over the Jur River in Wau, and the agreement that was inked referred to the project as the Jur River Bridge.
In March 2021, the China Tianyuan Construction Group Company Limited together with China Aid for Shared Future started the construction of the new bridge but one year after construction started, the National Council of Ministers resolved to name it the Clement Mboro Bridge.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday to react to the ongoing tension, Jur River County Commissioner James Ernest Makuei urged the Luo youth to refrain from acts of violence and use dialogue with the authorities to resolve the bridge name issue.
“I am honored to respond to the circulating information in the media about the change of the name of Jur River Bridge to Clement Mboro. As a commissioner of Jur River County and the administration of Jur River County, we are not part of the issue raised by the Luo youth in Jur River County,” said Makuei.
“As the administration of Jur River, we are respecting the orders issued by the national government because we are under its authority and remain committed to its decision. So we are calling on the youth that they should listen to my voice and follow dialogue peacefully,” he added.
Makuei pointed out that Jur River County is for peace and dialogue with all other Western Bahr el Ghazal State counties.