Kiir appoints newspaper commentator as press secretary

November 27, 2013 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir Mayardit, has appointed The Citizen newspaper’s political commentator, Ateny Wek Ateny, as his press secretary.

Ateny has been commenting on various political incidents and processes in the country, and has been a staunch critic of the country’s political leaders.

However, the subject of his latest commentary piece apparently caught the attention of the president.

In an opinion column published earlier this month, Ateny criticised Kiir’s current press team, saying that they were letting him down by not adequately responding to media allegations involving the president.

He was also critical of the press office’s handling of recent allegations that Kiir had travelled to South Africa via Kenya to receive medical treatment, describing the decision not to respond to the claims and the subsequent silence from the press office as a “conspiracy”.

On Wednesday, Kiir issued a republican decree number 88/2013, appointing Ateny as his new press secretary under ‘Grade 1. Super Scale’ in the civil service, making him the most senior press officer in the president’s office.

It’s believed Ateny’s appointment is part of efforts strengthen the press activities in the president’s office.

However, some commentators believe it is an attempt to silence his daily criticisms published in his newspaper opinion column against senior government officials.

(ST)