A South Sudanese foreign ministry official on Saturday denied disowning remarks of President Salva Kiir in which the latter criticized ex-UNMISS chief Hilde Johnson.

Kiir had made a speech in which he accused the former head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country, Hilde Johnson, of playing a role in the escape of his main political rival and former vice president Riek Machar, in December 2013.

Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Abdun Terkoc afterwards downplayed Kiir’s statement as a “slip of the tongue.” He may have been trying to prevent diplomatic backlash at the president’s remarks.

But on Saturday the official denied making any statement that disowned remarks of the president, saying a senior diplomat could not contradict the president.

“I am a senior diplomat and I cannot do that. I did not say that,” said Terkoc. 

It remains unclear what prompted the ministry to distance itself from the remarks attributed to Terkoc. However, another senior diplomat at the foreign ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that security personnel pressured the undersecretary to back away from the statement he had made about Kiir’s remarks.

“I understand that security personnel printed the news and took it to the undersecretary and asked him to explain why he disowned the remarks of the president, which he denied. But I think the intention was to defend the president and the government if you read the statements,” said the anonymous official.

File photo: Salva Kiir

Related:

Foreign ministry walks back Kiir’s allegations against Hilde Johnson (26 Nov.)