We reject the appointment of Mr. Yaak Deng as the chairperson of Egypt's Youth Union, as this appointment is unconstitutional.

On the 3rd of October 2022, Mr. Gola Boyoi released executive order No. 01/2022 for the structuring of the youth in the diaspora. In his order, he cited article 19.1-Sub article (D) from the constitution. In his appointment, he appointed 3 youth chairpersons in the diaspora. Among them was Mr. Yaak Deng who was appointed to be the chairperson of the youth union in Egypt and the Middle East. 

This appointment of Mr. Yaak Deng is a clear violation of the constitutional rights of South Sudanese youth in Egypt and the Middle East because of the following reasons. 

1. The youth union is at an infant stage of formation and is not even registered. The existing body was a steering committee headed by Mr. Peter Deng whose sole responsibility was to oversee the drafting of the constitution, registration of the union, and finally the formation of the electoral committee which would conduct an election. The appointment of Mr. Yaak Deng is a clear violation and sabotage of the formation of the South Sudan Youth Union in Egypt. There is no logic in appointing a chairperson for the union prior to its creation.  Since some of his supporters argue that he has a right to appoint, let us look at their constitution. 

2. The constitution of the South Sudan National Youth Union doesn't have an article that gives powers to the chairperson of the National Youth Union to appoint the chairpersons of the diaspora youth unions. As a matter of fact, the only place that the diaspora youth representatives are mentioned in the constitution is found in article 13.4-section (VI). This section only talks about 5 delegates from the diaspora that shall attend the National Youth Convention. There is no part of this article that gives powers to the chairperson of the National Youth Union to appoint the chairpersons of the youth unions in the diaspora. Maybe Mr. Gola and his team should start reading the constitution before citing it. 

3. article 19.1-Sub article (D) doesn't exist. The existing ones are article 19.17.1 and article 19.17.7-sub-article (D). None of these articles gives Chairman Gola the right to appoint the chairpersons of the unions in the diaspora. Let’s first look at what is in article 19.17.1. It says and I quote, "The National Executive Committee shall be the organ responsible for the management, and day-to-day running of operations, activities, projects, and programs of the National Youth Union". As you can read and interpret, this has nothing to do with the authority to appoint the chairpersons. Oh! Maybe article 19.17.7-sub-article (D) has what we are looking for. Here it is, and I quote, "Formulate policies for the National Youth Union and shall be approved by the Council". As you can see, this article doesn’t give Mr. Gola Boyoi the right to appoint any chairperson in the diaspora either.

With this careful scrutiny of the constitution, the appointment of Mr. Yaak Deng is null and void. Therefore, his appointment is illegitimate and unconstitutional. With all the evidence I have presented above, I urge all South Sudanese youth members in Egypt and the Middle East to stand by their constitutional right of choosing their leader, and not be intimidated by Mr. Gola and his group. 

This petition was created by a concerned member of the youth in Egypt and calls upon them to sign it. The petition shall then be presented to the South Sudan Embassy in Egypt and the Ministry of Youth and Sports. 

Attached here is the appointment letter. 

Elijah Achiek Panchol    Contact the author of the petition