A member of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA), Mabior Riiny Lual, quit his seat in parliament and as a commissioner in the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) and on Sunday wrote a damning resignation letter addressed to the South Sudan Patriotic Movement (SSPM) Chairperson, Vice President Hussein Abdelbagi Akol.
Abdelbagi is also the leader of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) which is a grouping of political parties that signed the 2018 revitalized peace agreement.
“I understand the party Chairman is Dr. Costello Garang Riiny, but since you are the SSOA representative as well as the high-ranking official from our party, I see it important to address this letter to you,” he opened. “My resignation should not come to you as a surprise. Remember in the middle of last year, I asked you whether you still remember what we fought for and why we signed the agreement with the government. You never gave me a reply.”
The former MP added: “You will think that I must be mad to resign, you believe this government is a mana from heaven and it is an opportunity to get rich, I see it otherwise.”
According to Riiny, about 70 percent of the country’s population is illiterate, there is a chronic lack of quality schools and hospitals and people are dying from hunger and preventable diseases.
“In my opinion, our daily thinking should be preoccupied with how we can save our people from poverty. But, since we are doing nothing to help our people, I see it fit to resign. I am resigning because serving in this government has become a mockery and a scam,” he stated. “My resignation should also tell others that, I am an independent thinker and I can quit when I believe what I am doing is against my belief and conscience.”
Riiny castigated that politicians in office should not continue to call themselves leaders when the very people they are supposed to serve are dying and leaders are illegitimately getting rich at their expense.
“People are dying from preventable diseases when men and women entrusted with service delivery fly out to get treatment for malaria and other diseases that can be treated in Juba taking with them millions of US dollars as allowances,” he charged. “I came to realize that we are misleaders and South Sudanese are unlucky to be led by political conmen. I had sincerely believed that opposition was going to change the political trajectory of our country by opposing failed SPLM-led government and be the voice of the people.”
Riiny closed by saying that it would be a waste of time and energy to stay in parliament and that he has other things that deserve his attention than being a phony member of parliament with no voice.
“I can serve South Sudan in other capacities as a private citizen,” he concluded.
Separately, the former MP also wrote on his Facebook page demanding the resignation of President Salva Kiir.
“The best gift President Salva Kiir can offer South Sudanese this year is just for him to resign,” he said. “The man is taking the country down with him.”
