South Sudanese diplomat denies joining rebel faction

May 11, 2018 (JUBA) – A South Sudanese diplomat has dismissed as untrue reports alleging he has joined the armed opposition movement led by the former first vice-president, Riek Machar.

“The rebels of Riek Machar should not waste their time creating fake news simply because I, Gordon Buay, am part and parcel of the Government of South Sudan. If you see me, then, you should know that you have seen President Kiir. Can Jesus Christ resign from the Kingdom of God and then join Lucifer?” said Gordon Buay, South Sudan’s deputy head of mission to United States.

According to Buay, joining the Machar-led rebel faction was like “somebody suggesting that Jesus Christ has defected to Lucifer”

“If it is impossible for Jesus Christ to defect to Lucifer, it is impossible for Gordon Buay to defect to a prisoner in South Sudan”, he added.

In May last year, Buay who previously served a rebel spokesperson, was elevated to the deputy head of South Sudan’s mission in the US.

Prior to his appointment, Buay served as a member of the integration committee for an alliance of armed groups that responded to a presidential amnesty in 2012 after agreeing to lay down their arms and abandon rebellion in several parts of the country, including Unity, Upper Nile and Jonglei states.

He also served the secretary-general of the South Sudan Democratic Front (SSDF) and chairman of its Canadian branch from 2002 to 2007, joining the National Census Commission in 2008.

Born on 28 November 1975, Buay obtained law degree at Canada’s Carleton University in 2004 and a doctorate at Saskatchewan College of Law in 2011.

(ST)