A celebration was held in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) headquarters of Pibor town on Monday to welcome a decision by Gen. David Yau Yau to rejoin the SPLM party led by President Salva Kiir.

Yau Yau, the former leader of a rebel group known as Cobra Faction whose rebellion gave birth to the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) which was curved out of Jonglei State in 2014, was a senior SPLM Party member who had his membership to the National Legislature and the top SPLM Party’s top decision-making organ, the Liberation Council, revoked last October. No reasons were given for his sacking but some members of the public and politicians believe the decision to have Yau Yau removed was orchestrated by local politicians infuriated by Gen. Yau Yau’s condemnation of the unrest between Anyuak and Murle communities in GPAA.

On 1 April, angered by his sacking, Yau Yau, announced his defection to the opposition SPLM-IO, saying President Salva Kiir’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) Party is devoid of and lacks democracy and visionary leadership.

However, in a letter dated Monday 29 April, Gen. Yau Yau, a former state governor and later deputy defense minister, announced that he has returned to the SPLM Party led by Kiir.

“After having intently listened to the call from the people of the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) following my attempt to persuade their demand for my immediate resignation from SPM-IO,” Yau Yau’s resignation addressed to SPLM-IO Chairperson Dr. Riek Machar reads in part.  “All my efforts were thwarted and made untenable to fit in the inter-communal political discourse of GPAA. I regret to inform you that the reason for my resignation is a call from my community and I have consistently faced resistance against my decision to be in the SPLM-IO since joining.”

“Among the resisting groups are youth, women, chiefs, and intellectuals. I firmly believe that the public and GPAA community are ready to hear the truth about resignation. Consequently, I met with the president, and the meeting was centered on my return to the mother party SPLM,” it added.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj from Pibor town on Monday afternoon, Tony Thopia Ojulu, the acting SPLM party political affairs secretary in GPAA, said Yau Yau’s decision was a political win.

“Yay Yau is now with us in Pibor and we are celebrating his return to SPLM where he deserves to be as the founder of GPAA,” he said.

Meanwhile, Abraham Kelang, the GPAA Information minister, said Yau Yau’s decision was a relief to the people of GPAA.

“No one was happy when Yau Yau announced he was leaving SPLM early this month. For this reason, as local politicians and Murle intellectuals, we constantly kept pushing him to take the decision he made today,” he stated. “As we speak, celebrations are now going on to welcome Yau Yau’s decision.”

Asked if any political offer was made for Gen. David Yau Yau, Kelang, said the sacking of Yau Yau from his positions by President Kiir was cooked up by a few politicians from Greater Pibor whom he declined to name for political reasons.

“Those politicians were condemned by the community and Yau Yau was asked to return. Now that Yau Yau is back, it will be up to President Kiir to reassign him,” he explained. “As a community and politicians, we have done our part and we are happy that Yau Yau is back.”

Several calls to SPM-IO Director of Information Puok Baluang and his SPLM Party counterpart, Daniel Badagbu, went unanswered.