Tension has been simmering in Western Bahr el Ghazal State’s Raja County between the SPLM-IO nominated commissioner and the SPLM party’s county secretary there.
Commissioner Addison Arcangelo told Radio Tamazuj over the weekend that the latest problems started when the SPLM party county secretary, Awad Ismail, last Thursday ordered the SSPDF commander in the area to disarm his bodyguards.
“The SPLM secretary had been out of the county for a while but upon his return, he began meeting Sudanese traders and members of the local chamber of commerce in the town without my knowledge. So, I sent my security people to find out who was behind the meetings and we found out that it was the SPLM party who are our peace partners and I said it was okay,” he explained. “As the head of security in the county, I was not aware of the meeting but I allowed it to proceed. Unfortunately, the agenda in the meeting was that they (SPLM) are going to provide the Sudanese traders with Nationality Identification Cards so that they can vote in the upcoming elections.”
“We have many of our citizens who do not have nationality cards so how can the SPLM party work to issue them to foreigners?” he questioned.
Commissioner Arcangelo said the security of and protection of both citizens and foreigners in his jurisdiction is his mandate and the Ismail got infuriated when he sent security officials to find out the agenda of the SPLM party meeting.
He said the SPLM county secretary later ordered the SSPDF commander in the area to disarm his (commissioner’s) bodyguards and accused him of planning to go to the SPLA-IO base in Dulo to mobilize soldiers.
“My bodyguards were disarmed and it was said that I was planning to go to Dulo to bring our (SPLA-IO) forces but this is not true,” Commissioner Arcangelo said. “We as the government in Raja are for the safety of the citizens and we cannot create instability.”
On his part, when contacted, the Raja County SPLM secretary, Awad Ismail, confirmed that he held a meeting with traders but denied any plans to provide Sudanese traders with national identity cards. He said him meeting the SPLM party cadres in the county does not require any approval from the commissioner.
“The commissioner was not happy about the meeting of the SPLM members and he sent in security to disrupt the meeting. He questioned why the security in the county was allowing the SPLM party to continue conducting their activities day and night but he was told that the head of the SPLM party has a right to have political rallies,” he said. “The county commissioner always blocks SPLM party activities and says permission has to be south from him which is not clear.”
Ismail said he will not stop the commissioner from carrying out his duties but cautioned him against interfering in SPLM party activities.
Asked about his party’s promise to issue nationality cards to foreigners, the SPLM party secretary denied it and said it was the responsibility of the Directorate of Immigration, Passports, Nationality, and Identification.
Telephone calls to the SSPDF commander in Raja County went unanswered.
Source: Radio Tamazuj