YEI, Sudan: Ugandas president said yesterday the helicopter crash that killed Sudanese vice president John Garang may not have been an accident, dropping a bombshell on thousands mourning the death of the ex-rebel leader in south Sudan.
Some people say accident, it may be an accident, it may be something else, President Yoweri Museveni said, becoming the first official of any government to publicly suggest Saturdays crash may have been the result of foul play.
The (helicopter) was very well equipped, this was my (helicopter) the one I am flying all the time, I am not ruling anything out, he said, noting that an international panel of experts had been appointed to look into the crash.
Either the pilot panicked... either there was some side wind or the instruments failed or there was an external factor, Museveni told mourners in Yei where Garangs body was brought ahead of his funeral in Juba today.
His comments were met with stony silence from the crowd, which had earlier greeted the arrival of Garangs coffin with wailing, ululation and prayer.
Garangs successor as chief of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), Salva Kiir, declined to comment on the specifics of Musevenis remarks but said the group was eager to hear the results of the probe.
All options are open and cannot be ruled out, Kiir told reporters after calling on mourners to reject the violence that has engulfed parts of Sudan since Garangs death and urging them to hold to their ex-leaders vision for peace.
Let us follow the footsteps of our leader, he told the crowd.
This is not the time for rioting, Kiir said, blaming unspecified opponents of peace for wanting to provoke a situation that would lead us back to war.
In Khartoum and Juba, senior SPLM/A officials cautioned against making any assumptions about the cause of the crash as did a diplomat in Bor, Garangs birthplace where his coffin was brought after Yei.
We dont have anything to suggest it was caused by sabotage, SPLM/A spokesman Pagan Amun said in Khartoum.
In Juba, SPLM/A General Pieng Deng told reporters that the flight data recorder from the helicopter had been recovered at the crash site.
Up to now we believe it is an accident but let the investigation end... as leaders, we cannot say anything until the investigation is concluded.
In Bor, the diplomat said Musevenis remarks on the eve of the funeral were unfortunate and noted that the Ugandan leader is under personal pressure because it was his own helicopter.
Garang and 13 others died when Musevenis presidential Mi-172 helicopter went down in the mountains of southern Sudan, sparking days of violence in Khartoum and the south that saw 130 killed and hundreds wounded.
However, relative calm returned to the streets of Khartoum yesterday as shop-owners reopened for business amid a noticeably lower security presence. AFP
