The Secretary General of the United Sudan African Party (USAP) in Western Bahr el Ghazal state has refuted the claims made by the recently defected USAP chairman, who alleged that the state branch office had been closed.
Last Saturday, Santino Uyu Madaiy, the former chairman of USAP in the state, announced his defection to the ruling party SPLM, along with a significant number of party members, and claimed that the state office had been shut down.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Friday, Gabriel Gok Mawien, the Secretary General of USAP in Western Bahr el Ghazal state and also a member of the state legislative assembly representing USAP, clarified that the state branch office remains operational under his leadership.
“I would like to address the statement released by my acting chairman, Hon. Santino Uyu Madaiy, who defected to the SPLM without my knowledge and without the awareness of all the members of USAP at the state level. I was surprised by his decision to join another party, but he should have followed the appropriate procedure,” Mawien stated.
“When I learned that he had joined another party, I initially believed it was not a problem because political parties are similar in many ways. However, there are certain procedures that need to be followed. If you wish to switch sides, you should tender your resignation and officially inform the party you are leaving rather than defaming the image of the party you were once part of,” he added.
Mawien emphasized that the former USAP Chairman, Santino Uyu Madiay, had held several positions in the state government under the USAP party ticket.
“From 2005 to 2010, he served as a member of the state legislative assembly, representing the USAP party. Additionally, when the states were divided into 28 states, he was appointed as the Minister of Agriculture in the state through the USAP party ticket. Given his prominence within USAP, we expected him to handle his departure differently,” Mawien explained.
“To this day, I find it hard to believe that Santino Uyu has truly defected from USAP, as he has not officially resigned from the party. He did not follow the necessary procedures that would allow me to respond by sending his resignation letter to our headquarters in Juba so that it could be properly processed. It’s important to remember that political parties are all interconnected,” Mawien continued.
“While it is his right to join any party he chooses, we cannot verify Santino Uyu’s departure from USAP since he has not submitted his resignation letter. As of now, Santino still possesses the ID card of the USAP party,” Mawien concluded.