Ex-S. Sudan army chief denies fleeing Juba to avoid arrest

March 24, 2015 (JUBA) – Former senior South Sudanese senior army general James Hoth Mai has refuted claims that he has been arrested under the orders of president Salva Kiir.

“It is a mere lie, and it is actually people who want to just confuse the situation in our country,” said Mai, the former chief-of-staff for the South Sudanese army (SPLA).

Mai was responding to online media reports that he had fled the capital, Juba, to Nairobi in order to avoid being arrested.

He told Eye Radio in a phone interview from Nairobi on Tuesday that he had simply gone to visit his parents, who hadn’t seen in almost six months.

“There’s no such order, there is nothing,” he said. “I left the country yesterday (Monday) without a problem,” he added.

Mai served as chief-of-staff from 2009 to 2014.

(ST)