South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir returned to Juba on Wednesday, concluding an extended visit to the United Arab Emirates.
His absence had sparked widespread rumors regarding his health, which state media has now sought to quell.
Members of Kiir’s entourage, who spoke anonymously, had previously informed AFP that the president traveled to the UAE on June 22 for medical tests.
This information fueled the public’s speculation.
A video shared by the South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation showed Kiir, adorned in his distinctive black cowboy hat and leaning gently on a cane, being greeted at the airport.
Government officials lined up to welcome him, a scene intended to project stability.
The state broadcaster, in a Facebook post, asserted that Kiir’s UAE trip was solely “aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and exploring new avenues for economic cooperation.”
This statement directly countered the prevailing health concerns.
These rumors follow a similar incident in May when South Sudan’s foreign ministry had to issue a statement denying online reports of Kiir’s death.
The ministry dismissed these posts as “entirely baseless and irresponsible rumors fabricated by enemies of peace, development, nation building and stability.”
Kiir’s return comes as South Sudan navigates months of internal unrest.
Tensions escalated after the president moved to sideline his long-time rival, Vice-President Riek Machar, who has been under house arrest since March.
The two leaders previously engaged in a brutal five-year civil war that claimed approximately 400,000 lives before a power-sharing agreement was signed in 2018.
Concerns are now mounting that this impoverished, young nation could regress into full-scale conflict.
The United Nations reported this Wednesday that over 700 people died between January and March this year alone, as tensions between the rival factions continue to escalate.
