Unity State Governor Riek Bim Top arrived in the capital Bentiu Friday to assume his duties over a month after his appointment by President Salva Kiir to replace SPLM comrade Joseph Manytuil.

Governor Bim departed Juba International Airport at 01:00 p.m. in a Kenya Airway passenger jet and arrived at Rubkona Airstrip around two hours later, according to a statement from his office.

He will now have to deal with the menace of cattle-related conflicts across the state borders including a recent deadly violence between armed youth from Rubkona County and neighboring Ruweng Administrative Area.

Pictures shared on social media show a huge crowd of people including students, women groups, chiefs and officials welcoming the governor upon arrival at the airstrip and in Bentiu.

The Deputy National Minister of Information Jacob Maiju Korok said in June 24, 2024 that Governor Bim and his Ruweng counterpart had been unable to travel to their administrative capitals since taking oath due to the current economic hardships.

The official made the remarks in an interview with Eye Radio – at a time when renewed subnational violence in the region claimed a dozen lives and threatened to spiral out of control.

But the governor’s press secretary, Koh Koang Manyuek, refuted the allegations that the delay was primarily due to financial challenges, and blamed the situation on mobilization of accompanying delegates.

Following his appointment Mr. Bim presented himself as a law-and-order governor, pledging to prioritize rule of law and accountability as well as reconciliation and trust building among communities.

Further, he promised coordinated efforts to crackdown on illegal checkpoints along the Nile, which derail the movement of humanitarian agencies and proper flow of goods and service.