South Sudan’s veteran reggae musician Emmanuel Kembe has denied on Tuesday reports alleging he defected to the SPLM-IO faction allied to former vice president Riek Machar.

In a press statement after his return from the United States, Kembe said that he did not join the armed opposition led by Riek Machar. Kembe, who uses songs to spread peace messages, said that he would work for peace in South Sudan.

Emmanuel Kembe is a popular South Sudanese multilingual reggae, folk and Afro-pop singer.

File photo: Emmanuel Kembe