Former Governor Elias Waya trounced in Jur River SPLM primaries

The former governor of the now-defunct Wau State, Gen. Elias Waya Nyipuoc, was defeated over the weekend in the SPLM Party primaries by a businessman in Western Bahr el Ghazal State’s Jur River County.

The party’s organizing committee conducted primary elections for county chairperson and national assembly seats in Jur River County’s constituencies numbered 2, 3, and 4.

Retired Gen. Waya was defeated by Tong Guak Dhal, a businessman, for the Wau South Constituency number 2. Guak garnered 45 votes against Waya’s 5 votes.

In the Saturday race, Joseph Manok Thony won with 96 votes against Thomas Thomas Dor, who got 79 votes.

In Wau North Payam constituency number 4, Marial Ajith and Bar Yar areas, Dr. Moris Yel Akol Tiit from Marial Ajith constituency won 46 votes after his opponent, Moulana Marko Agiu, withdrew from the race.

The Marial Bai, Udic and Kangi constituency number 3 was won by Joseph Anyar Madut Kon with 79 votes against Simon Athuai Akot, the former state minister of higher education and instruction, who got 13 votes.  John Wakil Albino Utho and the other contestants got a combined 11 votes.

The congresses are expected to continue today [Monday] in Wau County and at the state level.

Gen. Elias Waya Nyipuoc served as the first governor of the defunct Wau State from 24 December 2015 until 25 June 2016. He was summoned to Juba by President Salva Kiir on 23 June 2016 and was relieved of his position as governor the following day and detained by the army.

Gen. Waya was held in arbitrary military detention for over eight months without access to a lawyer or formal charges, initially at the Giyada Military Barracks before being moved to the Bilpam military headquarters. Human rights groups like Amnesty International repeatedly campaigned for his release.

 On March 10, 2017, during a National Day of Prayer event at the Dr. John Garang Mausoleum in Juba, President Salva Kiir publicly pardoned General Elias Waya alongside General Andrea Dominic.

A couple of weeks ago, Waya, then an SPLM candidate for the National Legislative Assembly from Jur River County, said he was barred from leaving Juba International Airport for Wau by a senior military intelligence official who said the order came from above.