|
Dr John Garang
|
The Investigation Committee looking into John Garang’s death has rejected the statements made by the State’s Minister in the Ministry of Interior, Alio Aleng Alio, that the late vice-president was assassinated.
Alio, who also served as a member of the Investigation Committee, was relieved of his duties due to his statements by the First Vice President and President of the governmnet of south Sudan, Lt. Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit.
"Inaccurate"
Commenting on the deposed minister's statements, the Investigation Committee's Rapporteur Siraj Al-Din Hamed told Miraya FM: "Mr. Alieu Ayang was a member of the committee, but he was not regularly attending its meetings.
He used to come to collect his financial dues and then leave."
Hamed went on to say that Alio "attended only ten percent of the overall meetings of the committee in the past eight months, and he was not well informed on the details and exact procedures that the committee has undertaken."
|
"There is no reason to call for reopening the investigation, and going back to square one."
- Siraj Al-Din Hamed, Rapporteur of the Investigation Committee
|
"The technical issue which he is raising is inaccurate and faulty," he added.
"I think that he did not derive this information from the committee's discussions, because it did not discuss such a thing previously."
Hamed said the numbers which Alio "revealed in his statements over the internet and to the press with respect to some parts of the plane were not subjected to investigation at any time by the Committee."
In response to a question by Miraya FM's on whether the Committee might have missed some points during it's investigation, Hamed replied: "reports on plane crashes usually take between three to six months, but because the committee was determined to make a thorough and a complete investigation into Garang's plane crash case, it took us eight months, and the report is published on the internet and it can speak for itself."
"Political Motive"?
Hamed maintained that, "There is no reason to call for reopening the investigation, and going back to square one."
"No other committee would have the opportunity to conduct a complete and proper investigation," he argued, "because the debris from the plane has disappeared by now."
Hamed maintained that, "The main motive to call for a new investigation might be a political one."
On the other hand, the SPLM’s Secretary General, Pagan Amom, said at a press conference in Juba that the SPLM recommended relieving Alio of his duties and denied its responsiblity for his statements.
Meanwhile, South Sudan’s Minister of Information, Radio and Television, Samson Kwaje, said his government had accepted the report presented by the Committee, which concluded that Garang’s plane had crashed due to poor weather conditions.
On the other hand, SPLM sources indicated that Alio Aleng has left Sudan to an East African country.
|
