Makuei, Dr. Lam says Kiir’s media aide lying over extension of transitional period claims

JUBA – South Sudan’s information minister Michael Makuei Lueth and prominent opposition leader, Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin have both denied claims by President Salva Kiir’s Press Secretary Ateny Wek Ateny that the parties to the revitalized peace agreement have agreed to extension of the transitional period.

On Tuesday, Ateny said the parties to the agreement – SPLM-IG, SPLM-IO, South Sudan Opposition Alliance as well as the OPP – have agreed to extend the transitional period from 2022 to 2023 to give time for activities that have not been implemented by the parties since the commencement of the pre-transitional period in 2018.

“All of them [parties] by consensus have agreed that the end of the transition will be 2023 because the end of the 2022 and beginning of 2023, that is where the election will be run to achieve peace,” the presidential aide said on Tuesday, according to the Juba-based Eye Radio.

For his part also, the SPLM-IO Director of Information and Public Relations, Puok Both Baluang, denied the claims and said the main armed opposition group is not aware of where the presidential press secretary came up with the information on extension, saying Ateny does not represents the presidency.

“We would like to distance ourselves or say that we are not aware of where Ateny Wek come with this information and he will be responsible for this information because we are not aware of this information about the extension of transitional period,” Baluang said yesterday.

Separately, information minister Michael Makuei denied in statements that no agreement was reached between the parties to the revitalized peace agreement for the extension of the transitional period though 2023, telling an Eye Radio journalist during an interview: “I said no, check your sources, nothing as such.”

For his part, Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin who is also the leader of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) said he is “not aware of that [extension].”