The governor of Central Equatoria State has appeared in public with President Salva Kiir for the first time since allegations of an ‘assassination attempt’ against the governor.
Officials in the Central Equatoria state government earlier this month claimed that Governor Clement Wani Konga was under threat and that the president had wanted to dismiss him and the other two governors of Equatoria.
This comes after Konga took a strong stand on federalism, opposing the president’s request that the issue not be discussed.
Konga and Kiir reportedly met last week in private with the other governors of Equatoria, but they have not been seen publically together until today.
At an event hosted by the Ministry of Health and UNDP, the president and governor today shook hands and were seated side-by-side.
A witness at the event stated, however, that Kiir appeared ‘not friendly’.
Konga last week in a public speech declared that he would not be intimidated to stop calling for a federal system of government saying, “Me I am not afraid. Nobody can sit on my head. Nobody can sit on the head of Equatorians.”
Related coverage:
Konga: ‘We will continue to talk about federalism’ (4 July)
Equatorian soldiers ‘disarmed’, troops sent to Terekeka (4 July)
Tensions rise in Juba; governor denies threat (1 July)