April 6th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) –Â A former lawmaker in South Sudan’s former Lakes state has denied joining the main armed opposition group led by the country’s former First Vice-President Dr. Riek Machar Teny.
Last week, a statement by Machar’s SPLM-IO alleged that Hon. Andrew Machiek [Allajuba] decided to join the group along with former Sudanese minister of tourism Joseph Malual.
On Saturday, in a statement he extended to the Nyamilepedia, Machiek said he was surprised when he saw his name in a press statement portraying his defection to the main armed opposition group.
“I was surprised to find out that my name was included in the list among the leaders who joined SPLM/A (IO) with Hon. Joseph Malual,” he said referring to a statement by the SPLM-IO over the defection of Malual to them.
“The inclusion of name in the list of those who joined SPLM/A (IO) with Hon. Malual as stated in the press release is against my consent and therefore it’s baseless and misleading to the public,” he added.
The ex-lawmaker claimed that he was not aware of any plan by Malual to join the main armed opposition group until he saw the SPLM-IO statement.
“I did not have any knowledge about Hon. Joseph Malual’s plans to join SPLM/A (IO) until I saw the statement because I have not seen him for months,” he said.
The official said he is a member of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) led by opposition leader Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin and said he remain a member of the group’s National Leadership Council.
“I want to assure the public that I am still a loyal and committed member in the National Democratic Movement,” he added.
