Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin, the leader of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), arrived in the capital Juba on Monday morning.
Dr. Akol landed aboard Kenya Airways and was received by the Minister of Presidential Affairs Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin.
Addressing reporters upon disembarking from the plane, Dr. Akol said he came to implement the peace agreement as the remaining parts of the agreement require his presence on the ground.
“I came in order to continue the road that we started on 12th September 2018. The peace process that we voluntarily agreed that we should do, I have not been far from it may be physically I was not there, but I was taking part in the process,” Dr. Akol said.
“We hope to do the next stages which demand physical presence. If we are able to do the rest previously at the distance, this time we need to be physically present in order to push forward and take our land to the designed end that we have all planned from the very beginning,” he added.
The NDM leader announced that his party is ready for elections and his return to the country is part of the preparation for the 2024 polls.
“My next move is that we are coming to implement the peace process and in order to prepare for the next stages as demanded by the peace agreement. We are prepared for the elections as part of the peace agreement. The election is a process, not an event. We are preparing for the election, whatever that preparation means,” he said.
For his part, Presidential Affairs Minister Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin said President Kiir and the people of South Sudan are delighted to welcome Dr. Lam Akol back home since he has been a pivotal part of the liberation struggle for the independence of South Sudan.
“On behalf of the government of the Republic of South Sudan and on behalf of His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit, he has delegated me to come and meet our colleague Dr. Lam Akol,” Marial said.
“It is the same story of the liberation struggle since 1983 up to now, he has also been a co-member and a very strategic member in our struggle. He has decided to come home and so the President said I must come and receive him on behalf of himself and the government and all the people of South Sudan,” Marial concluded.