The Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Mr. Edmund Yakani, has issued a stern warning that South Sudan’s fragile peace is at serious risk due to deep-rooted political indiscipline and the persistent use of violence by the ruling political class.
Speaking in response to the collapse of the Tumaini Declaration, an initiative launched to foster political reconciliation, Yakani described its failure as a reflection of “manipulative politics and the absence of genuine commitment to peace.”
“The Tumaini Declaration dying prematurely by Kuol Mayang Juuk is a clear demonstration of political indiscipline and a sense of manipulative politics,” Yakani said. “Our political leaders have normalized the use of violence as a strategy for administering public governance.”
Yakani was reacting to the recent declaration of the Tumaini Initiative’s death by the senior Presidential Advisor, Kuol Manyang Juuk, who doubles as the coalition government’s chief negotiator.
Expressing grave concern that South Sudan remains in the grip of what he termed the “political and gun class,” Yakani warned that the power structure continues to drive the country toward instability.
“These leaders use violence to resolve political grievances, and in doing so, they drag the country into repeated cycles of conflict,” he said.
The CEPO Executive Director accused the ruling elite of neglecting their core responsibility of fostering peace and stability, saying they are more focused on maintaining power through coercion than through consensus.
“We are cursed with politicians who care less about peace. They are willing to let civilians pay the painful price of political failure with their lives,” Yakani lamented.
