Kiir slams political ‘dissidents’ in Martyrs Day message

By Charles Lotara
President Slava Kiir Mayardit has scolded personalities who use concocted lies to tarnish the image of the government and gain political leverage abroad in a virtual Martyrs Day address to the nation last week.
In a message delivered to commemorate the 9th Anniversary of the day, Kiir called on citizens to instead cheer the government through as they work hard toward establishing lasting peace and stability.
“What our situation does not need now is this widespread culture of using made-up stories with the hope of gaining some leverage in the political discourse,” the President said.
Whilst Kiir did not mention names, his message came after political activist Peter Biar Ajak fled to the United States America saying members of the South Sudan National Security were pursuing him, a claim thrashed forthwith by the Presidential Spokesperson Ateny Wek Ateny.
Kiir said the tendency of propaganda with a hidden intention will not steer the country forward nor allow diverse opinions and views.
In his opinion piece on The Wall Street Journal titled “My Escape to America Shows the Price of Dissent in South Sudan”, Biar, who was pardoned by Kiir in October last year claims he was forced into hibernation after receiving multiple verbal threats from the national hit squad.
“I arrived safely in Washington Thursday after a harrowing journey from Nairobi, Kenya. I was forced into hiding after receiving word several weeks ago senior government officials in South Sudan,” he wrote.
President Kiir hit back last week and said “Lies do not bring people together, nor do they bridge conflicting views. My advice to those engaged in this practice is that their chosen path will not take them or the country forward.”
“What we all need to do instead is to desist undesirable propaganda and focus on working together irrespective of our political differences to restore peace and transition the country to the phase where its people determine its leadership,” Kiir added.
The Martyrs Day, according to the Commander-in-Chief of the South Sudan Defense Forces, was a day for citizens to reflect individually and collectively as a society for the betterment of the nation’s future.
The day was also meant to remember late Dr. John Garang de Mabior, the then SPLM/A leader who died in a controversial plane crash in July 2005, just after signing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement which would bring to an end the political turmoil between the North and the South.