JUBA – South Sudan opposition politician Stephen Lual Ngor, a close ally of Vice-President Hussein Abdelbaggi, has threatened the leader of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) Josephine Lagu with what he called “undesirable” consequences after she said Lual is not authorized to speak for SSOA in an official capacity. 

Rumors circulated on social media last week about a meeting between President Salva Kiir Mayardit and leaders from political organizations constituting the SSOA. According to the rumors, the SSOA leaders met to discuss a replacement for Hussein Abdelbaggi, a member of the South Sudan Patriotic Movement (SSPM), which is a member of the SSOA.

In a statement to dispel the rumors, Lual who doubles as the spokesman of SSPM told Sudans Post following the meeting that the J1 gathering, which Hussein did not attend, was not aimed at discussing a replacement for any leader within SSOA, but rather “discussed issues of the Tumaini peace initiative and elections” after the end of the extended transitional period.

However, in a statement on the comments made by Lual, Lagu, who is the leader of the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), expressed concerns over Lual’s remarks. She said that Lual is not a spokesperson for SSOA and that he is not mandated to speak on behalf of the alliance in an official position.

“Hon. Stephen Lual is a member and a spokesperson of SSPM, which is one of the constituent members of SSOA. He is not the official spokesperson of SSOA and not duly authorized to speak for and on behalf of SSOA in an official capacity,” she said.

Lagu stated that “Any official statement of SSOA shall be officially issued under the directives of its Alliance Chairperson Hon. Josephine Lagu Yanga and the Leadership Council. The Public, media Houses, and all stakeholders who wish to acquire official information concerning SSOA are asked to contact the Chairperson, who remains Hon. Josephine Lagu Yanga, or Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin, the current Secretary General, or any Chairperson of an SSOA constituent Party who is duly delegated to act in an official manner on behalf of SSOA.”

She urged Lual “to stick to his Party role and is cautioned against misrepresentation of facts, unnecessary and illegal issuance of statements on behalf of SSOA, which is misleading to the public,” and requested the SSPM “to put Hon. Stephen Lual to order.”

But in response, visibly furious Lual questioned Lagu’s legitimacy, saying that Lagu has been the leader of SSOA for more than six months, which is based on the alliance charter of the organization, and said she should first address her own position, which he claimed she has maintained beyond her tenure. 

“First of all, I would like you not to drag me into the debate of the legitimacy of SSOA leaders because if we are to address this question, the seat of SSOA Chairpersonship should have been subjected to elections after six months in accordance with the SSOA Charter,” Lual told Sudans Post.

“But since we decided to allow things to go loose due to the prevailing circumstances, we don’t see it logical for the Honourable Minister and a leader of one of the parties forming the SSOA alliance to talk about what position is legitimate or not,” he added.

He said that Lagu’s dismissal of his statement that the meeting with President Kiir did not discuss any replacement efforts means that there was indeed discussion about the possibility of replacing SSOA leaders, and then threatened undesirable consequences if such rhetoric continues.

“Since you are refuting the response made to the media dispelling the ongoing allegation about the topic of the discussion between the SSOA leaders who met with H.E. the President a few days ago, are you confirming that what was circulating in the media is correct? That you went to discuss the change of SSOA leaders who were not present in the meeting?” he asked. 

“I am not interested in open media warfare with you. My only interest was to calm the situation, but if there are issues to be addressed, then let us use the alliance’s channels of communication or else the outcome will be undesirable,” he concluded. Sudans Post

Missing opposition doyen Dr Kizza Besigye will appear before the army court today according to the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) spokesperson Brig Felix Kulaigye.  

“Go to Makindye Court Martial today at 11 am; you will find the answer you need,” said Kulaigye, when contacted about Besigye’s whereabouts. 

Besigye was abducted from Nairobi, Kenya, last week and forcibly returned to Uganda. According to reliable sources, who spoke to URN under anonymity due to the matter's sensitivity, Besigye is currently being held at Makindye military barracks in Kampala, since Sunday. 

This has been corroborated by his wife, Winnie Byanyima, who took to X (formerly Twitter) to demand his release from military custody, stating that he is not a soldier.

“I request the government of Uganda to release my husband, Dr. Kizza Besigye, from where he is being held immediately. He was kidnapped last Saturday while he was in Nairobi for Hon. Martha Karua’s book launch. I am now reliably informed that he is in a military jail in Kampala. We, his family and his lawyers, demand to see him. He is not a soldier. Why is he being held in a military jail?” Byanyima's post read. 

On Tuesday night, URN broke the story that Besigye had gone missing after close friends and relatives lost contact with him. According to multiple sources, Besigye was last seen on Saturday in Uganda when he left his home in Kasangati, Wakiso district, to check on a patient at a hospital in Kampala. Later that day, he travelled to Nairobi for what was confirmed to be attendance at Martha Karua’s book launch. 

Another source revealed that they lost contact with Besigye and his travel companion shortly after he indicated his arrival in Kenya. 

“He sent us a message saying that he had arrived, but we haven’t heard from him since. His phone and that of the person he travelled with are off,” the source said. By URN / The Observer

Controversy over the disbursement of county allocations has deepened after the Council of Governors (CoG) dismissed claims by Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi that all their dues have been released. 

The Governors described Mbadi’s claims as misleading and maintained that counties are still grappling with a biting cash crunch. CoG Finance and Economic Planning Committee Chairman Fernandes Barasa said the counties are yet to receive September allocations. 

“I want to tell Mbadi that he should stop misleading Kenyans. You know very well when money is released from the National Treasury to the County Revenue Fund through the Central Bank of Kenya and it takes a minimum of two weeks for counties to get money,” said Barasa.

“We have a lot of bureaucracy and inefficiency at the office of the Controller of Budget. The arrears for September was repealed last week and it has yet to reach the designated projects accounts.” 

The Kakamega Governor added that they were pushing for reforms in the Office of the Controller of Budget, saying money released to the County Revenue Fund “must reflect within 48 hours and not two weeks.”

Barasa maintained that governors would not accept the push by MPs to slash their funds. “We want to tell our lawmakers that counties need money so that they can finance their development projects and uplift the lives of their people and as Governors our stand is clear that we want Sh400 billion from the Exchequer as opposed to Sh380 billion being pushed by MPs,” he said.

Barasa lauded ODM Leader Raila Odinga for standing with the Governors and urged Senators to remain firm.

On Monday, CS Mbadi said the ministry had fully disbursed the funds to counties except for the current month. The ministry also shared documents that indicated it disbursed Sh30.8 billion in June and Sh32.7 billion in July, Sh30.8 billion and Sh32.7 billion in August and September respectively.

Some Sh30.8 million meant for October is currently in process, according to the document shared by the National Treasury.

On Friday, Raila accused MPs of undermining devolution by encroaching on the responsibilities of county governments. 

Speaking at his Capitol Hill office in Nairobi, Raila urged the National Assembly and the Senate to resolve their standoff over an additional Sh20 billion in shareable revenue for counties. By Bernard Lusigi, The Standard