July 18, 2020 (Nyamilepedia) – SPLM-IO nominee for governorship of Upper Nile state, General Johnson Olony Thambo, is not going to Juba on Monday as being reported on social media, James Gatdet Dak, the spokesman for First Vice President and SPLM-IO leader Dr. Riek Machar said.
Olony – a senior member of the SPLM/SPLA (IO) – was nominated last month by Machar for the governorship of Upper Nile state which was allocated to the main armed opposition group along with two other states.
To Machar’s surprise, President Salva Kiir rejected the nomination of Olony and has since asked the SPLM-IO leadership to choose a different nominee because the Apadang community of Upper Nile state does not accept him.
Since then, a lot of misinformation has surrounded the circumstances why Olony has not been appointed, with some, including President Kiir’s aides, saying that he needs to be in Juba, and some say Kiir rejected to appoint him because of the rejection by the Apadang.
This morning, reports have been circulating on social media, saying General Johnson Olony is due to return to Juba next week, ahead of his appointment as governor by President Salva Kiir.
Asked by Nyamilepedia if the information was true, James Gatdet Dak, the spokesman for Machar, denied the planned return for Olony on Monday saying the information was “not true.”
