Head of South Sudan Television denies quitting post
November 6, 2014 (JUBA) – The head of South Sudan’s radio and television, Khamis Abdallatif Lom, has denied quitting his position, claiming that a letter of resignation circulated was forged.
“I objected to this order as I was appointed by the president of the Republic [of South Sudan] and not the minister. I have realised that minister Makuei Leuth has a vendetta against me,” the letter said.
However, Lom said on Thursday that the letter was a fake and had been circulated to create confusion.
“I did not resign. I am still the Director General of South Sudan Radio and television. That letter which is claimed to have been written by me and circulated widely in the internet was not written by me,” he said.
Lom, however, admitted receiving a letter from the minister of information transferring him to the headquarters of the ministry, which he rejected and claimed to be handling through administrative channels.
“What I can confirm is that [it] is true minister Michael Makuei wrote to me transferring [me] from my position to the headquarters of the ministry, but I am handling it through other means and I don’t think it would be wise to go public,” he said in an exclusive interview with Sudan Tribune.
The minister’s decision was not implemented after Lom reportedly ordered those on duty not to broadcast the ministerial order since he was appointed by the president.
According to a source, this prompted Lueth to temporarily close the director’s office and deploy security operatives at the gate to block him from entering the SSTV premises.
Several sources, including a senior official at the ministry of information, said both Lom and Lueth had mishandled their administrative differences, saying the public spat had tarnished the image of the institution.
“I told them in my separate meetings with them that ‘you are senior officials and you need to handle this with diplomacy and through administrative procedures so that it does not affect the image of the institution’, but they did not listen to me and each one of them went his way,” the source said.
“Khamis did not want to listen to anyone and Makuei was annoyed and wrote the transfer letter, which Khamis blocked several times from being read out on the television,” he added.
The source claims Lom subsequently resigned after security agents arrived and Lueth’s order was read on-air.
However, Lom disputes this account, denying he ever tendered his resignation.
“I came across a resignation letter attributed to me being circulated on the internet. It is supposed to be addressed to the president of the Republic [of South Sudan]. I would like to state categorically that I have never ever written such a letter for it never occurred to me to resign my position which I enjoy very much,” Lom said in a statement on 5 November.
Lom claims the document is an attempt to discredit him and portray him as biased towards members of his own ethnic Dinka community.
“The whole intention is to portray me as someone who abominates other communities. It was intended to put [me] at loggerheads with our people from Equatoria, the Nuer and people of Abyei,” he said.
In the disputed letter of resignation addressed to president Salva Kiir, Lom accuses Lueth of interfering in hiring decisions and what he could broadcast, saying he had struggled to make any headway in such a “corrupt system”.
“Your Excellency, your government is full of very corrupt people and I am sorry to be frank to you that it is too deformed to be reformed,” the letter said in comments attributed to Lom.
(ST)