JUBE DAILY NEWS

Four judges of the military court in South Sudan took oath in the country’s capital, Juba Thursday ahead of next month’s trial of a senior army general in detention since May 2018. The army spokesperson, Major General Lul Ruai Koang told Radio Tamazuj that the judges appeared before the Director General of the Justice Ministry to look into Major General Stephen Buay Rolnyang’s case. He said Buay and his defense team did not again object to members of the special military court hearing the charges against him, adding that the military court will begin its hearings on April 2. The military court is headed by Major General, Thiik Aciek Hol, along with four other generals and a military adviser with the rank of a Brigadier General, according to the army spokesperson. Early this year, Buay opposed the ranks of court judges during his trial. A former commander of the army’s fifth infantry division, General Buay was captured during clashes with government troops in Mayom Count...

Rebecca Garang, the widow of SPLM founder John Garang, signed the revitalized peace deal in Juba on Thursday as an eminent personality in the presence of the regional bloc’s (IGAD) special envoy to South Sudan Ismail Wais. Rebecca was one of the country’s key opposition politicians who did not get a chance to sign the peace accord brokered by IGAD. She has been loosely associated with the SPLM “Former Detainees,” high-level SPLM politicians who were arrested by the government in December 2013. “If my signature is not there, the people of South Sudan will say the agreement is incomplete. Why is Mama’s name not there? I wholeheartedly support the agreement. If my people, the people of South Sudan wanted this agreement, who am I to say no? I am an individual and peace is always for the people, not for individuals and I support this agreement,” said Rebecca. She added, “I have been there, I want to see the light at the end of the tunnel”. Rebecca, a former...

There is no hesitation anymore, our roads are going to be constructed, and we believe roads bring stability, peace and development. We will go forward without failure,” said Okwaci. She added, “We are going to embark on construction to bring smiles on the faces of our citizens”. The minister said President Salva Kiir has encouraged government to go ahead with the policy of oil for development in the young nation. Meanwhile, Li Chao, the general manager of Shandong Hi-Speed firm said they are willing to fix roads connecting Juba to other parts. “We signed the multiparty agreement with key government officials on Monday. We are grateful for the tender award to construct roads in South Sudan. In the past seven years, we did a lot of preparation for the implementation of this project, including mobilizing of all machineries to speed up the construction of roads,” said Chao. He said they are going to construct 392 kilometres of tarmac roads across the country and t...

A lawmaker and two security guards were shot dead on Tuesday as they were leaving Mandeang area within the opposition-controlled 'Sobat State', located in Upper Nile region. The legislator was identified as Deng Bol Jak. “A group of eight MPs from Latjor State went for a meeting with members of the SPLA-IO in Mandeang area for peace dissemination.  After leaving Mandeang on their way back to Nasir town, their boat fell in an ambush in Birjok village,” Gatkuoth Bim Nyoak, Information Minister in Latjor State told Radio Tamazuj this morning. The government official further said Jak was representing workers’ union at the national legislative assembly in the capital Juba. The state minister pointed out that an SPLA-O officer identified as Deng Bol Chopthiang was also killed in the attack. Bim added that the lawmaker’s bodyguard was also shot dead in the ambush. “The government security guard was also found killed. He was identified as Duop Wiyual Kang,” he sa...

Pope Francis and President Salva Kiir on Saturday discussed implementation process of the revitalized peace agreement and the Catholic Church contribution to achieving reconciliation in South Sudan. President Kiir, according to the presidency in Juba, Kiir arrived in Italy on Friday," at the invitation of his Holiness Father Pope Francis for talks on bilateral relations". According to a statement released by the Vatican Press Office, Pope Francis and President Kiir discussed "the contribution of the Catholic Church in the fields of education and healthcare, and in the process of reconciliation and the reconstruction of the nation". "Attention then turned to matters regarding the implementation of the (revitalized) agreement (...), the return of refugees and displaced persons, and the integral development of the country," stressed the statement. The South Sudanese government and its peace partners are struggling to implement...

Members of the Opposition delegation to Juba have raised complaints about what they have described as harassment by hotel management. It all started when the opposition delegates were locked out of their rooms and denied food and access to their rooms. Addressing a news conference in Juba, SPLA – IO spokesperson, Col Lam Paul Gabriel, said opposition delegates resident in two major hotels in Juba town were locked out of their rooms over accumulated hotel bills. Here is what he told the journalists in Juba; “We are going through a lot of difficulties here in Juba we are being harassed by the hotel management in Juba I can give you an example of Grand Hotel for about four to five days now Juba Grand have cut some services from the Opposition teams that are here for the security arrangements our people have not been receiving food and water for five days now," The hotel managers decided to lock the doors of the hotel rooms for the delegations and th...

Members of the Opposition delegation to Juba have raised complaints about what they have described as harassment by hotel management. It all started when the opposition delegates were locked out of their rooms and denied food and access to their rooms. Addressing a news conference in Juba, SPLA – IO spokesperson, Col Lam Paul Gabriel, said opposition delegates resident in two major hotels in Juba town were locked out of their rooms over accumulated hotel bills. Here is what he told the journalists in Juba; “We are going through a lot of difficulties here in Juba we are being harassed by the hotel management in Juba I can give you an example of Grand Hotel for about four to five days now Juba Grand have cut some services from the Opposition teams that are here for the security arrangements our people have not been receiving food and water for five days now," The hotel managers decided to lock the doors of the hotel rooms for the delegations and...

South Sudanese president Salva Kiir has warned opposition groups against trying to recruit new soldiers, saying the move violates the revitalized peace deal. In September last year, Kiir and several opposition leaders, including main opposition leader Riek Machar, signed a power-sharing deal promising an end to the civil war that killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions. Kiir, who is currently on a tour of the greater Bahr al Ghazal region, held a public rally in the town of Wau on Tuesday. Addressing a crowd of citizens, Kiir said opposition groups were recruiting troops in many parts of South Sudan. “The opposition groups are trying to recruit soldiers to increase the number of their forces and take control of new territories. These two things violate the agreement,” he said. “Don’t accept the recruitment exercise. The opposition should understand that the recruitment of forces and occupation of new areas violate the peace agreement ...

South Sudan has paid $2 million to the East African Community (EAC) as its contribution to the bloc’s budget in late February, a legislator said. South Sudan is required to pay $8 million to the EAC as contributions annually. Africa’s youngest nation became the 6th member of the East African Community after joining the regional body in April 2016. Kim Gai Ruot, an MP representing South Sudan at the East African parliament, told Radio Wednesday that South Sudan’s government paid the money in arrears, pointing out that the country has been failing to pay its subscription fees fully for two years resulting in it owing a total of $15 million.  “The government of South Sudan paid $1 million last year. The total contribution of South Sudan to the East African Community is 24% only,” he explained. Kim further said South Sudan government’s delay in contributing to the East African Community budget denied the country some of the benefits. “There are sanctions if you f...

The president of Eritrea and the prime minister of Ethiopia are expected to arrive in the capital Juba on Monday morning, officials said. The official agenda of the meeting in Juba is to bolster already strong relations between South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea. In a press statement this evening, South Sudan's Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth said Eritrea's President Isaias   Afwerki and Ethiopia's Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed are expected in the country for a state visit. Minister Makuei further said President Kiir will receive the two leaders at the airport. Makuei, who is also the government's spokesperson, called on Juba residents to turn out in large numbers to give a warm welcome to the two regional leaders. “Citizens are expected to assemble on the road that comes from the airport up to the Mudiria roundabout and from the roundabout up to J1 at 8:30 am,” he said. The minister noted that the leaders will hold a tripartite meeting...