The wife of a former South Sudan military chief has accused President Salva Kiir of lacking “humanity” for refusing to release her husband to attend the funeral of their daughter who died in the Moi Girls School fire tragedy three weeks ago.
Writing in the Sudan Tribune on Friday, Mrs Lucy Ayak Malek, the wife of General Paul Malong, now under house arrest in Juba, said President Kiir had declined to release her husband to travel to Kenya to help identify their daughter, Alakiir Malong, who was one of the nine girls who perished in the school inferno.
“On September 2, a fire that gutted a girls’ dormitory at Moi Girls School, claiming the lives of 9 students with many others critically injured, was another test and touching trial for my family,” she wrote.
“I had two students in this school, a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old. My 14-year-old survived the fire with minor injuries, thanks to her brave elder sister who managed to push her through the window before she was caught up when she ran back to save her friend,” Mrs Malong recounted.
FAMILY HIT HARD
“As my 14-year-old recovers in hospital, her elder sister is still unaccounted for and thought to be among the 9 who burnt in the fire. That unstoppably welled our cheeks with tears and engulfed us with unfathomable grief because, as a tradition, in death, a little relief comes from the ability to identify and bury the remains of our loved ones,” she went on.
She recounted how the news of the fire hit the family hard, only for the family to later learn that their daughter could be one of the victims.
“This grief was compounded more on the morning of 6/9/2017 when I called my husband to inquire whether he will be permitted to come and give a DNA sample to identify his deceased daughter and he sadly told me that President Kiir (well knowing our current predicament) has declined to let him come and help to identify his deceased daughter’s remains and arrange for her burial,” she said.
http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Mother-pleads-with-Salva-Kiir-to-allow-General-mourn-girl-/1056-4099246-jbu8f1/index.html
It's only human that Pres. Salva Kiir should allow my friend Gen. Paul Malong to bury his daughter who died in Moi Girls Nbi fire tragedy. pic.twitter.com/k2aluoHyzN
— Donald B Kipkorir (@DonaldBKipkorir) September 17, 2017