Spokesperson of Parliament, Hon. Oliver Mori Benjamin - Credit: Obaj Okuj/Eye Radio April 22 , 2024

The Spokesperson of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly clarified that the fallen statue in Parliament was not intended to represent the Right Honorable Speaker, Jemma Nunu. Instead, it was meant as a symbol of a hardworking woman in South Sudan.

During a press conference on Saturday, December 28, Oliver Mori Benjamin clarified that the statue was created by an artist to honor a South Sudanese woman and that the Speaker had never requested it.

“The statue doesn’t belong or is not of the Right Honorable Speaker nor did she authorize the making of this status in the parliament,” Mori stated.

“There was an artist who thought of beautifying the compound and the new hall, which was to be inaugurated,” he said.

“This artist decided to make a statue as a sample of a hard-working woman in the Republic of South Sudan but not the Right Honorable Speaker that was what the artist did and placed it near the new hall which was constructed lately.”

Mori stated that other relevant institutions are currently investigating the matter.

“Certain measures will be taken how did it fall, what was the cause? And it’s not us as parliament to establish that there are national institutions which will establish the falling. So, let us be patient,” he stated.

On Friday, December 27, Juol Nhomngek, a lawmaker from the National Assembly, told Eye Radio that a group of women presented the statue to the Speaker of Parliament as a symbol of appreciation during the official opening of Parliament in April 2024.

EDITORS’ NOTE: This story has been revised to correct the attribution of the statue at the parliament. It was incorrectly attributed to Rt. Hon. Speaker Jemma Nunu Kumba, according to lawmaker Juol Nhomngek, who spoke with Eye Radio. However, the Parliament’s spokesperson, Oliver Mori Benjamin, clarified that the statue is not hers. We regret the distress this story may have caused to the leadership of Parliament and the Rt. Hon. Speaker.