Memoscar Lasuba, Author at Eye Radio

11,000 more unified forces to graduate Friday -Lt. Gen. Garang Ayii

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Memoscar Lasuba

The peace parties are set to graduate the second batch of the unified forces in greater Bahr el Ghazal on Friday, according to the Co-Chair of the Joint Defense Board and Chairperson of the High Committee for Bahr el Ghazal Unified Forces.

Lt.Gen. Garang Ayii Akol says these are forces camping at Masna Biira, Mapel, and Pantit training centers in the Bahr el Ghazal region.

“The graduation of the unified forces will be on date 4TH of November which is Friday, they are the army and other organized forces such as prisons service, wildlife, civil defense, and police,” he said.

He says a total of 11,000 soldiers are ready for the graduation ceremony.

“The arrangements are going on well, the uniforms have arrived, and the number of those (soldiers) who will be graduated is 11,000, but not all of them are in the parade, some of them will come back,” he said.

The unity government held the first graduation ceremony on 30 August for the Necessary Unified Forces.

The 21,973 unified forces comprised 3,308 VIP protection soldiers, 4,366 police personnel; 6,315 national security officers, and 1,120 prison personnel.

While about 3,575 personnel would take charge of the National Wildlife Service; 3,289 to be deployed to the National Civil Defense Service.

National parliament adjourns sittings to mourn MP Veronica

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Memoscar Lasuba

The re-constituted national parliament has called off sittings this week to mourn the passing on of a member over the weekend.

“So it came out at the leadership position that it is not actually wise and good enough for people to continue conducting the sittings and then our MP is laying in the mortuary,” John Agany, the Chairperson of the Information Committee in the parliament told Eye Radio Wednesday morning,

Veronica Luis who represents Tambura County, Western Equatoria state, died on Saturday after a short illness.

Today, the MPs canceled a sitting to pay their last respect to the deceased colleague before her remains are flown to her home village in Tambura for burial.

“So people decided that we should postpone the sitting until the next arrangements are done for the burial. So, today she will be brought to the National Legislative Assembly premises,”

“And then after the prayer, she will be fallen to her homeland to be for burial,”

On Monday, a similar parliamentary session was postponed after the parliament received the body of the late veteran politician Serafino Wani Swaka for viewing.

Honorable Agany said the August house was considering conducting extraordinary sittings to compensate for the lost days.

“Definitely this week, we will be occupied pre-maturely with funerals that are taking place.”

The postponed sittings were meant to discuss some drafted laws and a report by the Specialized Security Committee.

Governor Adil calls for budget discipline as govt kicks-off fiscal year

Posted on November 2, 2022November 2, 2022 by Memoscar Lasuba

The governor of Central Equatoria has called for budget discipline as the state government kicks off the 2022/2023 fiscal year.

Emmanuel Adil Anthony assented to the 16-billion South Sudanese pounds state budget yesterday, paving the way for its disbursement.

According to the budget, five-point-one billion pounds will be spent on salaries for civil servants and constitutional post holders, and 6.7 billion pounds for delivery of goods and services.

While capitation and conditional transfers to the County, Payam and Boma levels constitute around four billion pounds.

Addressing the Cabinet Ministers Tuesday, Adil called on them to stick to what they have planned and budgeted for.

“My guidance on this new budget is we need to be a serious government. We need to maintain budget discipline meaning sticking to what we have planned for and budgeted for unless there is an emergency then we can spend outside of the budget…” he told his ministers.

The governor said he is going to relieve himself from any paperwork to do with the budget and directed those with concerns to the ministry of finance.

He called on his government to build a reserve to deal with unforeseen situations such as natural disasters.

“You will discover the issue of floods, these are crises – even the IDPs and so on that we have not planned. We need to have a reserve so that we will be able to respond. That’s why budget discipline is the key.”

Meanwhile, governor Adil instructed the ministers to submit quarterly accountability reports and ensure local administrators account for their expenditures.

Foreign Affairs says yet to receive report on Dr. Chol’s death

Posted on October 27, 2022October 29, 2022 by Memoscar Lasuba

Seven years on, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it is yet to receive any report regarding the death of a British citizen, Dr. Ding Chol Dau. Continue reading “Foreign Affairs says yet to receive report on Dr. Chol’s death”

Even nuns watch porn, Pope says, warning of risks

Posted on October 27, 2022October 27, 2022 by Memoscar Lasuba

Pope Francis has warned priests and nuns about the dangers of watching pornography online, saying it “weakens the priestly heart”.

The Pope, 86, was responding to a question about how digital and social media should be best used, at a session in the Vatican.

Pornography, he said, was “a vice that so many people have… even priests and nuns”.

“The devil enters from there,” the Pope told priests and seminarians.

As to how to navigate social media and the digital world, he said that they should be used but told them not to waste too much time on it.

“The pure heart, the one that Jesus receives every day, cannot receive this pornographic information,” he said.

He advised the group to “delete this from your phone, so you will not have temptation in hand”.

Church teaching sees pornography as an offence against chastity.

GBV court convicts man, associate for kidnapping campus girl in ‘forced marriage’

Posted on October 26, 2022October 26, 2022 by Memoscar Lasuba

The Gender-Based Violence court in Juba has sentenced a man to 18 years imprisonment, and another to eleven years for aiding him to abduct a University of Juba girl in a forced marriage.

32-years-old Ring Deng will spend 10 years in imprisonment for kidnapping, 7 years for attempted rape, and another year for causing hurt to the 26-year-old campus woman.

“Ring sentenced to ten years imprisonment for kidnapping survivor to compel her marriage in contravention of section 273 of the penal 2008, ” Judge Amun shared the verdict with Eye Radio’s newsroom Tuesday.

“Two; Ring is sentenced to seven years in prison for attempted rape in contravention of section 247 rate together with section 63 of the penal act 2008,”

“Three; Ring is sentenced to one year in imprisonment for voluntarily causing hurt to the survivor in contravention of section 233 of the penal act of 2008.”

While his associate, Yak Ring Tong, 27, is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for aiding the victim’s abduction.

“Yak is sentenced to ten years imprisonment for the joined act of kidnapping the survivor to compel her marriage in contravention of section act 273 read together with section 48 of the penal act of 2008.”

“Yar is sentenced to one-year imprisonment for voluntarily holding hurt to the survivor without provocation in contravention of section 232 of the penal act 2008.”

Both convicts, according to the court presiding judge Francis Amun, committed the crime in March this year.

Prime culprit Ring Deng is fined two million South Sudanese Pounds while Tong is fined one million pounds as a reparation to Victim Jane, not her real name.

The court gave the convicts 15 days to appeal against the verdict.

The Gender-Based Violence Court, supported by the United Nations Development Program – UNDP has so far convicted dozens of men since its establishment in 2020.

R-TNLA ‘overwhelmingly’ re-passes controversial constitution-making bill

Posted on October 24, 2022October 25, 2022 by Memoscar Lasuba

The national parliament has re-passed the final reading stage of the disputed constitution-making process bill, 2022.

The draft constitutional bill was passed for the second time after it was recalled when the peace parties resolved the rift among members of the August House.

In July, a section of the parliament unilaterally passed the bill in the absence of SPLM-IO lawmakers who were boycotting sittings at the time.

But Monday’s sitting has endorsed the constitutional-making bill to the final stages.

John Agany, the spokesperson of the transitional legislature said the bill is only awaiting the signature of president Salva Kiir Mayardit to pass it into law.

“The bill has been passed into its final reading and it will make the way to the president where it will be passed [ ascended] to law. So, congratulations to the national legislative assembly for passing this important bill which has been called for by the agreement,” he said.

“It is one of the bills that will prepare the nation of South Sudan to have a working permanent constitution. and it is one of the important bills that will invite the grassroots to participate in this important constitution-making process.”

The Constitutional Process Bill was submitted to the transitional parliament by Justice Minister Rueben Madol in April this year.

According to the peace deal, the draft bill is expected to guide the establishment of a legal framework to govern the permanent constitution-making process.

It also aims to guarantee good governance, constitutionalism, rule of law, human rights, and gender equality as key benchmarks for the conduct of general elections by the end of the transitional period.

The National Constitutional Amendment Committee was established in line with the 2015 peace deal to spearhead constitutional amendments in the country.

Presidency instructs governors, commissioners to open political space

Posted on October 22, 2022October 22, 2022 by Memoscar Lasuba

The Presidency instructed state governments and administrators not to obstruct parties to the peace agreement in their spheres of influence.

The Presidential Affairs Minister Friday said all the parties are working under one government through the 2018 peace accord, and the presidency ordered free political space.

The peace parties have been faced with hindrances by the other in areas that are not under their control.

“It’s clear that now, there is only one government. So, the instruction to all governors, all the commissioners of the counties, they should allow all the parties that are members of the peace agreement to conduct their political activities without obstruction,” Marial said.

Each political party has accused the other of harassing and intimidating their agents for establishing their offices and conducting political rallies and campaigns.

In August, the SPLM-IO Secretary-General Regina Joseph Kaba said her members had faced continuous” harassment of its fellow party members and supporters across the country.

She raises the concerns after the recent detention of some SPLM-IO members by security forces in Lakes State, an SPLM stronghold.

Kaba had led a delegation to Rumbek town for a political event last week when some of her team members were arrested upon their arrival in the area

She said their supporters were wearing an SPLM-IO blue T-shirt when they were apprehended, an allegation Lakes State government spokesperson denied.

The Chairperson of the state Human Rights Commission, Malok Makol Bol was among those briefly detained.

On the contrary, the SPLM Party also has often time accused the main opposition SPLM-IO of blocking it from campaigning in some counties under the control of its commanders, an accusation Machar’s party refuted.

At the weekend, the SPLM interim secretary general, Lamb Both accused the SPLM-IO of obstructing the party from establishing the bases in its areas and called for free political space

She called on the SPLM-IG to allow freedom of expression and open political space, as enshrined in both the revitalized peace agreement and the interim constitution.

However, the presidency on Friday directed all levels of government to open up the political space for the peace parties to conduct their activities freely

“This is a clear message, to open space to all political parties. There are no close areas or certain parties, it is now open to all,” Mariel said.

South Sudanese are expected to go to polls in 2024 by the extended peace agreement to usher in a democratically elected government.

However, the implementation of the key provisions of the peace agreement such as making a permanent constitution, registration of political parties, and conduct of a national census are fundamental to the process.

Weapons mandatory for next batch of unified forces -Barnaba

Posted on October 22, 2022October 22, 2022 by Memoscar Lasuba

The unity government has declared as mandatory for the second batch of soldiers from the various peace parties to report with their weapons to the cantonment sites.

The decision was reached during the presidency meeting on Friday.

According to the Presidential Affairs Minister Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin, the presidency resolved that the soldiers expected to report to cantonment sites must carry their guns.

Failure to do so, the individuals will be turned back.

“Those who are going for the second time to join the cantonment sites, those armed groups from various parties, should be sped up,” Mr. Marial announced.

“Those who will be going to the cantonment sites will only be accepted when they come with their weapons,” he added.

The 2018 peace agreement provides for training, graduation, and the deployment of 83, 000 unified forces from the various peace parties across the country.

In a separation resolution, the presidency recommended the deployment of recently graduated forces to mainly hot spot areas in the country.

So far, more than twenty thousand of the unified forces have graduated, pending their deployment in November by the extended peace implementation roadmap.

President Kiir recalls Unity State governor

Posted on October 21, 2022October 22, 2022 by Memoscar Lasuba

President Salva Kiir has recalled the Unity State governor, Joseph Monytuil days after he left Juba for the state capital Bentiu.

The Presidential Affairs Minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin announced this to reporters following a presidency meeting Friday afternoon.

“His Excellency President Salva kiir recalled the governor of Unity State, Dr. joseph Monytuil to report Juba. He was here of course but went back,” Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin Announced.

The purpose of the urgent call is unclear.

But this has come three months of relative peace in the state after the extrajudicial killing of senior military officers who were aligned to General Stephen Buay .

The summary killing followed the killing of Mayom County Commissioner, Chuol Gatluak Manime in July.

After the incidents, the state was mired in a series of protests by some youths who called for his removal.

Some of the protesting youths were reportedly arrested and tortured forcing others to go into hiding for fear of their lives.