Civil Society Chair Apologises To President Kiir

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The South Sudanese boss for civil society, Mr. Deng Athuai Mawiir, has extended an apology to the public for accusing President Salva Kiir that he and Dr. Machar are fighting war of interests and that the people of South Sudan are the ones suffering with leaders (Kiir and Riek) keeping their children off war.

“I would like to offer an apology to the President of the Republic, Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit, as thelegitimate representative of the people of South Sudan for my statements delivered at the nationalconsultative conference on peace talks, held at Freedom Hall on  November 24, 2014,” partly reads the letter of apology.

The apology was addressed to the public with copies to President Salva Kiir, the Speakers of the State Council and National Parliament and the Media.

Earlier on Deng Athuai was quoted saying “Because those who are paying the cost now are not the leaders… sometimes those who are really paying the real cost are the grassroots citizens. And plus the recruitment that took place called Mathiang Anyor – meanwhile there is no child of our president Salva Kiir within that Mathiang Anyor.”

“Meanwhile, in the White Army, there is no child of Dr. Riek Machar”.

President Kiir had responded to Civil Society’s boss providing evidences that he has a son fighting in the frontline in the on-going conflict and that he himself had fought such wars over years even when he was a young boy.

“Comrade Deng,” Kiir responded, “I fought in two wars – I fought in Anyanya 1 as a very young boy – and then I fought – I led this second war myself. So nobody can challenge me on that”.

“I have my son in the army. He is in a combat unit, not a logistics guy. Many people may go away with assumptions that the leaders here don’t have sons in the army, they just want to kill the people of South Sudan,” the president added.

In his apology, Athuai  said the comments were, “uncalled for and regrettable.” He also added that he was angered by the way the organizers of the conference tried to sideline and silence the civil society group by omitting it from the list of speakers at the conference, adding that has, “contributed a greatdeal to the way I delivered my statements.”