Western Equatoria State Members of Parliament have appealed to President Salva Kiir to create Tombura as a separate state. 

A decree issued by the President on Friday puts the county under Gbudwe State, which also comprises of Yambio, Anzara, Ezo, and Nagero counties.

The MPs say the demand for the separation of Tombura came from the people in the area, which they say is highly populated.

The Caretaker Speaker of Western Equatorial State Legislative, Hannah Lona Bona, says the motion was raised on Sunday in an extraordinary sitting of the state parliament.

“We are just appealing… if the president can also accept their need for another state be granted for greater Tombura,” Ms Bona told Eye Radio. “But we really applaud what he has done to us –  dividing WES into three states.”

The president said the republican order for splitting the ten states into 28 will come into force after 30 working days since the announcement last Friday.