A top rebel commander loyal to former first vice president turned rebel leader Riek Machar said on Saturday he had narrowly escaped being kidnapped by armed men at Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya.

General John Jok Gai, who is the military commander for the rebel forces in Central Equatoria region, told Radio Tamazuj that the attempted abduction took place shortly after armed men had kidnapped the opposition governor of Kapoeta Marko Lokidor in January.

“I have narrowly escaped being abducted in Kakuma because we were together with Lokidor. I managed to hide myself somewhere and they kidnapped Lokidor. The same people returned after kidnapping Lokidor to kidnap me but they could not find me,” Gai said.

The top general further said another group also attempted to kidnap him at a hospital in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.” I have been seeing the doctor at night in Nairobi because they wanted to kidnap me like James Gatdet,” he said.

“I want to reassure the people of South Sudan and my forces that I am okay after surviving kidnap attempts. I have returned to the country”.

Gai condemned the kidnappings of several opposition officials as attempts to intimidate and silence them, while reiterating their commitment to the signed cessation of hostilities agreement with the government in Juba.

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