Top rebel military official denies defecting to government
December 16, 2014 (KAMPALA) – The older son of the former deputy commander-in-chief of South Sudan’s ruling party (SPLM) has dismissed claims that he has defected from the country’s rebel faction led by former vice-president Riek Machar.
“I can’t abandon, neither quit from this struggle,” he said, saying the killing of innocent civilians after conflict broke out in the capital, Juba, on 15 December 2013 had motivated him to take up arms against the government.
“This is a purpose why [I] am taking up my gun to face [the] murderer of my tribe,” said Nhial.
He accused those behind the rumours as being warmongers who were acting out of self-interest rather than the South Sudanese people.
“You know the death of innocent civilians on December 15 has become trading mechanism from those still with [the] government to keep themselves for the sake of getting money from president Kiir who tainted his hand with [the] blood of our society, such people are [the] one’s working toward spreading wrong rumours to [the] public,” said Nhial.
He also challenged his tribesmen still loyal to Kiir to stop making false statements via social media that he had defected to the government.
“Let me tell you clearly that am not such person who leaked bloody money in order to betray the country for the sake of keeping Mr Kiir in leadership. I have a vision for South Sudan,” said Nhial.
Nhial’s father was a well-known warlord who fought in the long-running north-south civil war, which ended after the signing of a 2005 peace agreement paved the way for the South’s independence in 2011.
A zonal commander, Pualino Matip backed the Khartoum regime that was fighting to prevent Unity state’s oil fields from falling into the hands of then Southern rebels
In 2006 he joined the Juba government, commanding thousands of troops who
remained under his control until his death on 22 August 2012 when they were subsequently integrated in to the South Sudanese army (SPLA).
(ST)