This rejoinder is being issued with regard to the May 25, 2026 statement of the Kuki Organization for Human Rights (KOHUR), aired in the Peopleโs Chronicle and other media houses.
The hands or complicity of Nagas in the ambush and murder of 3 Thadou church leaders on May 13, 2026 is irrefutably ruled out by the following facts:
1. The Nagas groups named by the Kukis as the perpetrators of the ambush have no reason whatsoever to target the Thadou church workers. They do not have anything to gain or achieve from committing the murder of the Church leaders who have long been recognized as messengers of goodwill and peaceful co-existence.
2. Infiltration into Kuki militants (German-Tiger) infested areas between Kotlen and Kozim by Naga armed groups is by any standard foolish and even suicidal. The KOHURโs allegation is tactically and politically a mischief and exposes them and their hoodwinking exercise in futility.
3. Reliable sources reports that the attackers spoke in Kuki dialect. Do we need to go any further.
4. There were reportedly other vehicles moving both behind and before the two Church leaderโs vehicles at the time of the incident. The precision of the attack points to the fact that the two vehicles of the Church leaders were the prime target. There was telling indications that the three church leaders were shot at from point-blank range, with Dr. Sitlhou alone being hit by 15 bullets. It is doubly clear that the perpetrators knew exactly when the victims vehicle would be reaching the ambush spot, who was seated where and in which vehicle, etc. It is definitely only Kukis who will be able to access such intelligence.
5. The ZUF-J has denied its hands in the ambush. They did not counter the ZUF-Kโs statement of denial of involvement. The ZUF-Jโs statement came first and was followed by the denial statement of ZUF-K. Then, the Kukis are using the invalidated statement of ZUF-J as a fact for their fake propaganda. How long will this lie go on while the hard facts have been emerging against your distortions. All Naga groups alleged by the Kukis as having committed the murder denied the same. A marked difference from the case of the murder of Nekkam Jomhaoโs where there was inordinate delay in claiming responsibility for his death.
6. In KOHURโs statement under reference, Dr. Sitlhou was projected as a peace-builder. Were his efforts for โKUKI-Zo-Naga Christian reconciliation effortsโ and his participation in โKuki-Zo-Naga Christian leadersโ dialogue in Churachandpurโ as asserted by KOHUR in the interest or against the interest of the Kukisโ demand for separate administration? Your assertion strongly indicates that his efforts and engagements have a direct bearing to his murder, given the timing and his views and stand that he clearly declared and maintained in public. All his efforts were deemed to be against Kuki political demand and hence had to be put to a stop.
The reason surrounding the murder that increasingly appears plausible and veracious is that the crime is primarily associated with the controversy over โKukiโ and โThadouโ which has created rift between the two protagonists. It has affected religious affiliations, inter-tribe ethnic cohesions, etc. which have ultimately affected present Kuki geo-ethnic politicization whose fallouts are violence in different forms. The reason behind the murder is the controversy emerged in violent and reactionary form. The background of conflict within Thadou-speaking group is properly accounted in four Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM)โs statements released on May 13, 14 and 17 along with February 2, 2026.
The statement of February 2, 2026 undernotes the long-drawn character saying โit has been 70 yearsโ and occasioned the constitution of Expert Committee consisting of anthropologists from NEHU and Manipur University on Oct. 28, 1993. The findings are said to have confirmed that โThadouโ was the โestablished name of the language for over two centuriesโ. Further, the memorandum also undernotes the involvement of violence which was so particularly after 3 May, 2023 saying that โThadou people were victims of attacks, displacement, and false portrayal as part of conflicting groups due to generic labeling under Kukiโ. In similar vein, on the day of gruesome killing, TIM in its condemnation statement undernotes the victimizing conditions saying that โthe Thadou people have repeatedly become victims of the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur due to misidentification. We strongly reiterate that Thadou is not Kukiโ. In the statement what is surprising is that the identity of the killer of Nehkam Jomhao is identified with the killers of those three church leaders. Based on Thadou Convention 2024, the statement boldly reiterated that โThadou is not Kuki no underneath Kuki, or part of Kuki but a separate, independent entity from Kuki.โ As such, the circumstances that led to the infamous coldblooded murder of three priests point to the conflict between the two protagonists, โKukiโ and โThadou.โ
“A pertinent question also poses as to the gravity of the case of Nagas captives, why did the Kukis disavow their knowledge about the 6 Nagas captives who of the wives of the three were held captive with them? How long Kukisโ lies can go in the face of fast revealing process? Did the KOHUR condemn their inhuman treatment meted out to Naga women captives and the traceless fate of 6 Naga captives even after 15 days of their captivity? In the matter of human rights no one is Kuki with different human rights nor is Naga with the similar rights. If the KOHUR wants to be contrarian in any manner, state your stance with concrete proofs and facts” stated the statement issued by the Media Cell, Working Committee, UNC.
