S. Sudan’s Kiir in South Africa for medical attention
November 3, 2013 (JUBA) – Medical reasons prompted South Sudanese president Salva Kiir to visit South Africa on Saturday, contrary to state media reports that he was destined for the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
However, reliable sources close to the president said Kiir had instead travelled to South Africa for medical attention.
Kiir has been suffering from an undisclosed illness for several months, although his health appeared stable in the past few days.
While his aides were reluctant to comment on the matter, some reports suggest the president is suffering exhaustion, which had necessitated his trip for a medical check-up.
On Sunday, however, SSTV neither broadcast news on the president’s reception in Nairobi, nor announced any outcome of the reported meeting with his Kenyan counterpart, something particularly unusual given Kiir was supposedly on an official trip.
The lack of news about the president’s meeting in Kenya seems to suggest that he may have immediately proceeded to South Africa from Nairobi.
When contacted by Sudan Tribune on Monday, South Sudan’s information minister, Michael Makuei, declined to comment on the matter except to say the president was on “short leave”.
Not even officials at the South Sudan embassy in South Africa could comment on the matter, with an unnamed official simply saying “that information is incorrect”, when Sudan Tribune inquired if they were aware of the president’s visit.
On Sunday, the country’s vice-president, James Wani Igga, also left Juba for South Africa, accompanied by the foreign affairs minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin and a number of other officials.
Igga is due to attend the joint Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) summit of heads of state and government in Pretoria.
The SADC/ICGLR summit brings together 16 African countries to consider the report of a joint ministerial meeting on the implementation of the peace, security and cooperation framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the region.
In terms of protocol, however, it is strange for both the president and his deputy to leave the country and travel to the same foreign country almost simultaneously.
For now, the minister of cabinet affairs, Martin Elia Lomoru, who is also the chairman of the opposition South Sudan Democratic Forum (SSDF) party, remains the acting head of state.
The decision has left many citizens wondering about the true circumstances of the president’s visit, given that public statements on the “official” trip seem to contradict the reality.
(ST)