August 30th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – South Sudan’s main armed opposition leader and First Vice-President designate Dr. Riek Machar Teny is not hiring members of Sudan’s Janjaweed militia group as body guards, a opposition figure allied to Machar said Thursday.
This week, social media users from South Sudan have been circulating rumors that Machar had hired members of the militia group to protect him anywhere he goes including during his expected Juba trip in September.
Speaking to Nyamilepedia on Thursday, a senior opposition official allied to Machar denied the reports saying they were meant to tarnish the image of the powerful opposition leader.
“Just please disregard them. They are meant to tarnish the image of the heavy-weight Machar and make him look like a terrorist before the civil population,” the official said.
Asked if Machar had any intention to do such thing, the official replied: “I have told you that he is being targeted by the biased government media because they want to tarnish his image. he don’t have such an intention and South Sudanese are strong enough to provide protection to their leader.
