DEFENCE MINISTER URGED TO STEP DOWN FROM CHEREPONI PEACE PROCESS
Security analysts have urged, Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, to step down from a process to end the renewed conflict in Chereponi.
The Defense Minister, who is a Konkomba – one of the two factions in the long-drawn-out conflict – has been accused of using the military to back his Konkomba tribe against the Chokosis.
The Minister has admitted that his association with the Konkomba tribe has festered the perception of bias but told D FM news his hands are clean.
He said he is committed to bringing peace to the region and vowed to use his office to achieve that.
“I do not think that he is guilty of bias…but in mediation once a party feels you are biased the ethics say you have to withdraw. The perception is strong enough.
The Konkombas and Chokosis tribes have frequently waged war against each other over a small piece of land in the poverty-stricken Chereponi district.
The clashes in April this year displaced some 1, 860 residents, according to the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) estimates. The long-standing conflict in the town has been blamed on the government’s inability to adequately resource police to deal with the fluid security situation.
BY: DIKODER.COM|D FM
