S Sudan ex-army chief accused of ‘preparing war’
JUBA: South Sudan President Salva Kiir has accused his ex-army chief of staff, Paul Malong Awan, whom he previously released into exile through mediation brokered by elders, of mobilising for war, the Sudan Tribune reports.
Kiir made his comments on Sunday to elders from his Dinka tribe who had helped mediate the release of Awan in November following a stand-off over presidential orders for Awan’s guards to disarm and return to their units.
Awan was dismissed by Kiir last May following intelligence reports of a coup he was planning together with his supporters across the country.
He was prevented from returning to his home in Bahr El Ghazal and forced to return to the capital Juba where he was held under house arrest.
Citing videotapes, the president said Awan “was talking to soldiers and officers in the army to cause rebellion and attack towns in Bahr El Ghazal”.
On one of the tapes Awan could allegedly be heard asking his officers to start fighting in Wau State and Aweil city in Bahr El Ghazal.
Another video recorded Awan asking a major in Wau to start fighting immediately to capture Wau airport while in a third Awan spoke to several officers who rebelled against Kiir’s government in protest over the way they were treated.
However, Awan, based in Kenya, strongly denied the allegations and accused “the enemies of peace” of being behind the tapes.
“I would want to make it clear to the people of South Sudan that the tapes were fake and unauthentic. The tape recordings are a clear imitation of my voice minted by my well-known enemies,” he said.
He further accused certain individuals of attempting to undermine his relationship with Kiir in order to preserve their own employment and economic interests as the economy of the world’s newest country continues to implode.
Awan further alleged that he had previously personally purchased a recording machine for South Sudan’s security apparatus when he was still employed by Kiir, adding that the machine had “the ability to record the voice of a victim and this recorded voice can be turned around to cook future voices for the sake of implication”.