Daniel Mabior Achiek, Interim Chairman of National Progress party and founder member of NPP - Courtesy

Former child soldier Daniel Mabor Achiek, once taken prisoner of war during the fight for South Sudan independence, has launched a party aiming to bring about political and economic freedoms in South Sudan.

Dubbed the National Progress Party (NPP), the group aspires to develop and exploit the country’s abundant natural resources to feed its people.

Mabior, who is NPP’s interim chairperson, said South Sudanese can neither talk nor design their future because the conflict has deprived them of the opportunities to live a normal life.

They can’t farm or run businesses because they face daily acute insecurity, galloping inflation, and economic difficulties, he said.

According to Mabior, his political party programs aspire not only to transform the security sector in South Sudan but also to build trust and confidence between the military and other organized forces.

He also wants to ensure that human security and the safety of ordinary citizens top the development roadmap.

Mabior describes his party, as a party of peace, national progress, economic reform, and civil political discourse, and the party is rejecting all forms of politically motivated violence.

He promised to address challenges and achieve economic and political aspirations.

Mabior Achiek was a child soldier and one of the liberators, he took his first and second military training when he was between 17 to 19 years old at Bongo military camp.

He was captured with some of his colleagues and imprisoned for extended periods in 1991.

According to the interim chairperson of the National Progress party, the party was founded in 2018 and was given a permit to operate in South Sudan in 2021.

In a statement sent to Eye Radio newsroom, the former Child soldier says he took his military training when he was between 17 to 19 years old.

He pointed out that after a second military training in Bonga Military Training Camp, they were dispatched to the frontline.

Mabior says they were sent to fight alongside Ethiopian government troops against advancing Ethiopian rebels – also known as the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).

He stated during the fight they were captured by the rebel forces and they were later released after months as prisoners of war.