Members of parliament in Northern Bahr el Ghazal are sharply divided over an attempt by a section of the house to remove Governor Kuel Aguer Kuel, less than a month after a dispute broke out within the ruling SPLM involving Kuel’s predecessor General Paul Malong.
Achak Thiep Thiep, head of the parliamentary information committee said on Monday that 34 members voted in favour of removal of the governor while 8 members wanted him to remain in office. However, the impeachment resolution itself bears only 19 signatures of members, according to a copy of the document obtained by Radio Tamazuj.
Former state minister of parliamentary affairs Ernest Mangok Mangok Deng raised the motion which was countered by another resolution by Deng Nguac, who reportedly told the house that the procedures used to impeach the governor were incorrect.
Among the charges made by Ernest and the other MPs is that the governor used government funds to start a “premature campaign for 2015 general elections.” They also claimed that the governor had been removed from SPLM membership during the controversial SPLM leadership meeting chaired by General Paul Malong earlier this month.
The impeachment document further alleges that the caretaker governor made speeches “instilling fear in the general public,” quoting him as saying to an SPLM meeting, “The government of South Sudan shall soon be submerged [by] the problems it’s facing.”
MP Nguac dismissed the charges against the governor saying, “They just framed flimsy charges against the governor. They brought up unfounded and baseless allegations, none of which carries a single truth. They are all made up allegations.”
For his part, MP Garang Mawien Mawen, head of the legal committee, said that the charges against the governor also include unauthorized loans given to him in excess of 4.5 million dollars. This amount corresponds to the sum of two figures mentioned in the impeachment document, one being a 3 million dollar “letter of credit contract” awarded to his son Luol Mawein and the other being a “loan of 1.5 million USD” given without parliament approval.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Garang said that Kuel is no longer governor as from Monday. The political situation in the state remains unresolved at time of publication.
File photo: Kuel Aguer