Juba, South Sudan,
July 13, 2021 – Presidential Press Secretary and Spokesperson Ateny Wek Ateny has sent tongues wagging when he said each time he sees a beautiful woman he feels like “grabbing” and “dragging” her.
Speaking in a 15-second video clip doing a wave on social media in his Dinka native language, Ateny said he finds beautiful women irresistible.
“Whenever I see a beautiful woman my heart races, I feel dizzy, and just want to grab her and drag her and take her because it is something in the blood,” the Presidential Spokesperson said.
In the video, a group of women whom Ateny was addressing, could be seen nodding in acceptance while others are seen grinning.
However, the content of the viral video did not go down well with the Twitter community as many users likened Ateny’s remarks to misogyny and machismo.
Chieng de Agutayen, a Twitter user defended the remarks saying the translation of the video into English distorted the intended meaning of the message.
“I believe a linguist would have a different opinion on this. You can’t possibly think that a phrase expressed in one language (Dinka in this case) would bring the same meaning when translated into another…just what is it with this “activism” thing?? He was clearly joking though,” he said.
Adam Quincy, another user, questioned what meaning the translation would have if it was done in Arabic adding that if it was a joke, it was a bad one coming from an official who works at the country’s top office.
“How would you translate it into, say, Arabic, if you know the language? We should not try to justify such statements, especially when they come from someone in the highest office in the country,” he said.
“If it’s something in his blood then it shouldn’t be out in public unsupervised,” another user wrote.
Mr. Ateny has caught media attention last week when a separate clip of him emerged saying he ceased to be a Christian and returned back to Ateny-Dior.
