Kiir’s media aide ‘unaware’ if Machar nominee for deputy interior minister is rejected

JUBA — South Sudan’s presidential press secretary Ateny Wek Ateny has claimed that he is not aware if President Salva Kiir Mayardit has rejected SPLM-IO nominee for deputy minister of interior.

This comes after the SPLM-IO said in a communique on Tuesday night that President Salva Kiir has refused to appoint its nominee for the deputy minister of interior who was submitted to him for appointment in February.

In the communique signed by Machar, the opposition group said it was concerned by continued “Refusal of the President to appoint the SPLM/A (IO) nominee to the positlan of Deputy Minister of Interior whose nomination was submitted on February 1, 2021.”

However, in an interview with the Eye Radio, Ateny said he hasn’t been informed on the matter because he didn’t attend the meeting between Kiir and Machar where the deputy minister of interior was discussed saying the two men haven’t informed anyone about if the nominee has been rejected or not.

“It was a meeting of the First Vice President with the President, they didn’t tell anybody whether there is rejection or not, so I cannot talk about something I have not been told,” Ateny said on Friday.

“They were only two and they didn’t make any statement,” he added.

The position was allocated to the SPLM-IO by the revitalized peace agreement, but has been vacant since the resignation of Mabior Garang after taking it up for a few weeks.

Last month, acting press secretary in the office of the First Vice President and SPLM-IO director of information and public relations Puok Both Baluang told Sudans Post that the group has submitted a female opposition official from Abyei to the president for appointment as deputy minister of interior.

Baluang however said they haven’t received any feedback from the office of the president if the unnamed female opposition nominee has been rejected or accepted as she was nominated in February this year.