Muortat is widely praised by South Sudanese from all tribes due to his impartialness, his strong stance against tribalism and his vision of seeing Southerners united as equals. He is also greatly respected for his constant and consistent stance against the Khartoum regimes and his lack of compromise regardless of what he was offered by the Sudanese governments. Especially during the period after the Addis Ababa Agreement where he was under self-imposed exile due to his refusal to participate in the Southern Sudanese autonomous government under Nimeiri which he saw as unjust and a sell-out.