President Salva Kiir warned Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) party adherents against contemplating a coup to topple his leadership in the party or as head of state.
Kiir stated that such a strategy had been tried and failed by other leaders in the past, but he forgave those who attempted to depose him as a gentleman and statesman at the time. He would never do it now.
President Kiir made the remark during the swearing-in ceremony for the SPLM Secretary-General on Tuesday, in what seems as a warning against the political wrangles that emerged within the SPLM’s top brass in December 2013.
While addressing the SPLM members, Kiir said any potential coup plotters would not be left free, as has been the case before.
Kiir said his act of tolerance towards the coup plotters had been misunderstood as weakness and an act of cowardice, adding that he will not give any room for such a political machination to take place.
“I want to say to those who are considering another coup attempt that if they do not get me, I will definitely get them,” Kiir said, adding this applied both within and outside the party.
“Tolerance will not be my choice next time if there is a surging coup attempt,” he said.
He added that many politicians in the country continue to eye the seat of the president, a scenario that he said created strife and yielded the 2013 war.
Warns against power struggle
“There are people who make it a point that they must be number one, and this issue of number one is what has caused this fight since 2013,” he said.
He said that he would not regret forgiving those who planned the attempted coup, adding that he will continue to work for peace in the country he liberated.
However, Kiir appealed to the SPLM members to embark on reconciliation and shun wrangles over positions, saying he would never entertain any fissures in the party.
“Reconciliation is the most important thing, and we are now together; those who rebelled against me are my members of the party now,” he said.
“I will not do anything to them until they do it (rebellion) again,” he added, “if they do not do it.”
He lamented that many people have misconstrued their humility of setting coup plotters free for an act of cowardice.
President Kiir appealed to the SPLM members to take the initiative to develop the country in their various positions.
He added that the party has liberated the country from the Arabs and has to develop it in all aspects.
“We have liberated South Sudan, but we must develop it,” Kiir said.
He added that the party still has a lot of things to do in order to meet its missions and visions and win the support of the masses.
“We have many things that we have not done, and these are the things that took us to the bush when Sudan was not doing anything to the south,” he said.
Kiir stated that the party began the infrastructure development of major roads with the goal of connecting South Sudan as a whole.
He stated that once the country is connected by roads, it will be simple to provide services to the people at the grassroots level.
Kiir also said that the current roads under construction would help the government control the crime rate in the country.
He promised that the government would embark on peaceful disarmament to ensure peace among the scattered communities.
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