Governor Joseph Monytuil addressing the Council of States in Juba on August 22, 2022. | Credit | Office of the Governor – Unity State Press Unit
Unity State Governor Joseph Nguen Monytuil has been urged to strengthen ties with the neighbouring Ruweng Administrative Area following a deadly attack in Abiemnom that left over 200 people dead.
The appeal was made during the swearing-in ceremony of new
officials at the State House on Wednesday.
Presidential Advisor on Security Affairs, Tut Gatluak
Manime, called for intensified peace efforts in Unity and Upper Nile,
emphasizing the need to rebuild trust and cooperation with communities in
Ruweng.
The two areas have experienced violence, including in
Abiemnom County, which local authorities linked to armed youth from
neighbouring Mayom County in Unity State, though no group claimed
responsibility.
“We have all witnessed what war does. We believe we should stop from here. Then we must find a way of getting solutions. And we must work together to solve our problems,” President Salva Kiir said in a statement from his office.
Vice President for Infrastructure, Taban Deng Gai, called on
officials to remove road checkpoints that hinder trade and economic activity,
stressing reconciliation and peaceful coexistence as priorities.
SPLM Secretary General Akol Paul Koordit and Minister
of Peacebuilding Stephen Par Kuol also urged officials to act with
integrity and collaborate across political lines to advance the peace
agreement.
Monytuil, reappointed on Monday as governor of Unity State
to replace Riek Bim Top, previously served in the same post in 2013 and from 2020
until his removal in May 2024.
The swearing-in ceremony also included Peter Chaleman Cawach as Presidential Advisor for Peace and three deputy governors: Isaac Luka Manga (Lakes State), William Gatjang Giing (Unity State), and Karlo Andrew Akwo Ajert (Eastern Equatoria State).