My Response to Mr. Mading Ngor Akec Kuai’s Disparaging Statement Against me, in Hon. Michael Makuei’s Defense!
By: Ateny Wek Ateny
November 29th, 2024
Juba: South Sudan
Dear my good friend Mading Ngor,
I read your brief, but disparaging statement against me, and I quote “Ateny Wek Ateny is the best Minister of Information South Sudan will never have. You can’t fail as Press Secretary and get promoted as Minister of Information”. (Mading Ngor Akec Kuai) in his Facebook Wall, dated November 28th, 2024, and it was hilarious reading it.
I wasn’t surprised, reading such statement coming from my own young friend like Mading Ngor to whom I had done a lot with since 2010. Yes, I agree with your defense of Hon. Michael Makuei Lueth and of your assessment of me during my tenure as Press Secretary in the Office of the President for nearly a decade. But get this from me now.
First, Mading, you had every right to defend Makuei by tooth and nails, because he is breastfeeding you, and without him, your Dolku Media would be gone. I have no doubt of your capabilities as professional Journalist, but Hon. Michael Makuei is your ladder in which your journalistic journey in South Sudan is based. So, writing against Makuei, for you is close to writing against mana.
Second, your assessment of my work as Press Secretary in the Office of the President by then, was typical of someone of your caliber. You thought, I have failed and therefore do not have what it takes to be a Minister of Information, though I am not vying for it anyway? It is true, Mading Ngor, I cannot blame you. I doubt if, the same person as you who had developed interest in the same job has time to understand his/her preconceived predecessor’s success. If, I had failed while I was the first ever post-independent South Sudan to hold the position of Press Secretary, then, how did the job become attractive to many others including you? You know what I mean.
I bet your contact lens, were busy seeing how to get into the job yourself, so you did not have a proper attention on what I was doing. Otherwise, like temperature, success is measured on merits of each case. Depending on whose assessment, success could also be failure depending on the angle you are seeing it from. So, I cannot blame you. But note, you have called me few weeks ago asking me to help you get into the position of Press Secretary in the Office the President to unseat the current young lady, Lily Adhieu. I told you I can’t do it, because I have no access to the President. You still haven’t given up. Moreover, I shouldn’t be defensive of my work in the office of the President, because what I did there will speak for itself. Anyway, this is a story for another day. My memoirs shall highlight further.
Why my criticism of Makuei’s statement against the telephone and internet service users, may seems awkward to your like albeit of Makuei’s perceived sacrosanctity, I want to give you the following points.
First, Hon. Michael Makuei is the worse Minister of Information South Sudan ever have, starting from Abel Alier- Joseph Lagu’s Presidency of Southern Sudan Region to date, but how will this get to you, when he is at the same time a ready-made food? Yes, Makuei was one of the best judges prior to war of liberation. But he is a bad politician now. Close to 80 years of age, the old man still doesn’t care of his other fellow citizen rights, and can address them anyhow, as if, he also owns the citizenship of this country. You don’t know how much Makuei put this country and the coming generations to the problems not easy to solve, yet he survived on his job for two decades. I am sure, he might be thinking he also owns the great community of Bor.
Second, how would anyone replace Makuei when he is Mr. Know all? Imagine, how he blocked all Bor’s PhDs for two decades and the only corridor that remained opened is through him. Makuei combined Ministry with Bor Community’s leadership he had also held single-handedly since liberation time. Sometimes back, Makuei wrote to the Bor Community using the Ministry headed- paper. Yet, he did not care of this contradiction. It is said that “charity begins at home” but for Makuei charity also ends at home too. I will leave out for now, how Makuei’s recommendation for the jobs in government has never included any son/daughter from other parts of South Sudan. I can only disclose them in my next response, if need be.
Thirdly, in 2019, you came to the Office of the President with Hon. Michael Makuei to recommend you for the allocation of old Radio Juba premises, West of JI and opposite Dr. John Garang’s residence in an attempt to set up your private Dolku Media Company. You also asked me to help you convince the President to approve this. It is after you saw everything turning black in your campaign for Press Secretary position, since it is the prerogative of the President to appoint whoever he/she wants to appoint. That request was denied. In this Makuei has no match.
To be continued in the next publication. I will then disclose how Makuei has destroyed this country, yet nobody speaks about it. The man was being admired because of ignorance of our population on how government officials should behave. I already have in my memoir more than hundred page of how Makuei has put President Kiir’s administration at risk because of his anger. I have no more research to do about Makuei. Just for Mading to know, I can even publish this part about Makuei.
To be continued. Stay tuned for more publications.
The writer is the former Press Secretary in the office of the President and the views expressed in this article are his own. He could be reached through email: atenypiokerwek@gmail.com
The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Lakes State Media are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Lakes State Media.
