Guwahati: A top leader of the Naga insurgent group National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Unification (NSCN-U), also known as the GPRN/NSCN, N. Kitovi Zhimomi, is said to have returned to the organisation after being “impeached” and sidelined for nearly a year, sources close to the outfit confirmed.
Even as an official announcement is awaited, sources added that the development took place Saturday morning in the outfit’s general headquarters at Khehoyi, about 35 km from Dimapur. No firing was reported during the incident as Zhimomi reportedly “reclaimed control” of the outfit’s camp in Nagaland’s Niuland district.
In a notice released by the Gaonburah’s Association of Nihokhu village in Niuland district on 22 March, the Naga political groups were asked to refrain from engaging in “gun battles or armed conflicts” within the jurisdiction of ‘Ato Area’, which includes Khehoyi village.
“Such actions pose a severe threat to public safety and will not be tolerated. The party engaging in the first firing will not be allowed to be stationed within the Ato Area Jurisdiction,” read a handwritten notice signed by the Chairman of the Ato Area Gaonburah’s Association.
As news broke, the Kitovi group’s Army chief, Kiyehe Yepthomi, reportedly rushed to the Khehoyi camp in Niuland. Details of the current development are still emerging, but security sources confirmed that the situation is peaceful.
Differences in leadership
Since its formation in 2007, Kitovi Zhimomi led the NSCN-U as its General Secretary for nearly two decades before being sidelined over internal differences and in violation of party rules. The organisation was formed as part of a peace agreement between members of two factions — the National Socialist Council of Nagalim-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) and the Khaplang-led NSCN (NSCN-K). It later became known as the NSCN-Neopao Konyak/Kitovi (NSCN/NK) until Zhimomi’s impeachment last year.
The 67-year-old leader also led the Naga National Political Groups (NNPG) — an umbrella body of seven Naga insurgent groups party to the peace talks with the central government, apart from the NSCN-IM.
On 21 April last year, Zhimomi was “impeached” — charged with “incompetency” and alleged financial misconduct within the organisation — in a decision taken during an emergency “National Assembly” at the Tatar Hoho Hall, the council and central headquarters of the organisation in Khehoyi, under the leadership of GPRN/NSCN president Neokpao Konyak.
Following Zhimomi’s impeachment, Alezo Venuh, the coordinator of the Working Committee of NNPG (WC NNPG), was unanimously elected as the group’s new general secretary. At the time, Konyak was reluctant to continue as president despite requests from other leaders, but eventually agreed to stay on. Meanwhile, Venuh continues as the general secretary of the organisation.
Security sources added that Zhimomi’s return could be a “planned move” for the reunification of the two NSCN-U factions — one led by Konyak and Venuh, and another by Zhimomi and his loyalists.
The reasons for Zhimomi’s impeachment had been attributed to internal differences that had been brewing in the organisation for almost a year. There was discontentment among members and complaints against him for alleged misconduct and mismanagement of financial resources. Members earlier had pointed to his “dictatorial” mode of functioning.
In February 2023, one of the group’s important functionaries, Hokato Vusshe, shifted to the Khango Konyak-led NSCN/GPRN(K) faction, creating a dent in the group.
With Zhimomi sidelined in his organisation, speculation grew over who would lead the NNPG, raising questions about the future of the ongoing talks with the central government.
Security analysts told this correspondent that the developments over a year have weakened NNPG’s position in the discussions with the Centre, while also casting a shadow on the unity among the various groups under the umbrella body. Amid the internal strife between different Naga organisations and concerns over leadership, the Central government’s current course of action in the ongoing Naga peace talks remains unclear.
It has been nearly three decades since talks between NSCN-IM and the government officially began in 1997. However, the process remains stuck over the outfit’s demand for a separate Naga national flag and Constitution in recognition of Naga history of over 70 years.
Even as the Centre intends to bring various Naga groups together and sign one principal agreement, the fundamental differences between the NSCN-IM and the NNPG remain a hurdle towards achieving a “permanent solution”.
Comprising seven Naga insurgent outfits, the NNPG has reiterated its commitment to the “Agreed Position” signed between its working committee and the Centre on November 17, 2017. Besides other groups, the NNPG include the breakaway factions of the Khaplang-led NSCN, the NSCN/NK that signed a ceasefire agreement with the Centre in April 2012, the NSCN-Reformation (NSCN-R) led by Wanting Naga, and a splinter group of the NSCN (Khango) led by Isaac Khango.
Also Read: Tripura: How the Kokborok script debate left TIPRA, BJP divided