The king of the Shilluk tribe in South Sudan says that a prominent SPLA commander hailing from Shilluk who clashed with the Upper Nile State governor’s bodyguards last week in Malakal has not rebelled and the problem in Malakal was ‘exaggerated.’
SPLA headquarters sent an investigation team headed by Lt. Gen. Garang Mabil to look into the clashes. They met with SPLA Major-General Johnson Olony and representatives of the Shilluk community at Lelo on the west bank of the Nile in Shilluk territory, Radio Miraya reported.
Meanwhile, the Shilluk king said the he also met with displaced people under UN protection in Malakal, which is on the east bani. Speaking on Radio Miraya the king said, “I King Kwongo Dak Padiet came to Malakal to help in solving the problem of Malakal which is known by all, but in reality it was exaggerated. There is too much exaggerated in whatever was said.”
“So many people went to the UNMISS camp. I am also asking those who are in the UNMISS camp that I King Kwongo Dak Padiet have spoken to both sides and we have come to know that Olony and his forces have nothing to do with rebellion, so everybody is asked to go to his place,” he said.
During the meeting, the king made a specific call to youth to live in harmony.
Meanwhile, Olony himself told Radio Miraya, “People have been saying I rebelled. I did not rebel. I will be in the government and if the government wants to kill me, I will not rebel.”
File photo: Maj-Gen. Johnson Olony