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Garang death breeds African conspiracy theories
By Daniel Wallis1 hour, 39 minutes ago
The death of Sudanese Vice-President John Garang in a Ugandan helicopter crash has spawned a host of bizarre conspiracy theories in east Africa -- ranging from sabotage to Rwandan hijackers sneaking on board.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, whose helicopter Garang had been using, is particularly incensed by reports in Kampala that have gone into overdrive following the July 30 shock death of his friend and talismanic former southern rebel chief.
Garang waged a 21-year war against Sudan's northern Islamist government. But just months after signing a peace deal, his body was found in the wreckage of the aircraft after it plummeted into the remote mountains on the border with northeast Uganda.
The chopper crashed during a storm, and Garang's supporters have said they do not suspect foul play.
Leading the charge with a frenzy of claims surrounding his death is Uganda's Red Pepper newspaper, a popular tabloid that mixes political rumors with lots of female flesh.
First it claimed, without giving any evidence, that the chopper was sabotaged in a failed bid to kill Museveni.
Then on Monday it suggested spies from neighboring Rwanda had sneaked on board and shot Garang twice in the head before the crash -- drawing an angry response from the government.
"The Red Pepper's extra heads, persons, bullet wounds etc are simply a figment of their speculative reporting and should be ignored," Ugandan Defense Minister Amama Mbabazi said this week as the bodies of the Ugandan crew were flown home.
"No people unknown to the pilots, engineer or security officers sneaked stealthily or otherwise onto the chopper."
Uganda has insisted only 14 were on board the helicopter, but on Wednesday the United Nations said 17 bodies had been recovered from the crash site.
Mbabazi said false and insensitive reporting could damage regional peace and security efforts. But it is not only the salacious Red Pepper that has attracted government criticism.
Uganda's independent Daily Monitor implied that Museveni had lent his friend a defective helicopter. It quoted sources as saying Museveni had opted not to use his helicopter for a trip to Rwanda in June because it had technical problems.
"CRIMINAL RUMOURS"
Museveni's office pointed out that the chopper had been undergoing a $1.4 million refurbishment in Belarus at the time.
"It is criminal for anyone to say that," raged senior presidential adviser John Nagenda about the report.
Last week Museveni ordered his information minister to correct another Monitor story that said Sudan was holding the bodies of the Ugandan crew until its investigation was over.
At prayers for the dead Ugandans on Wednesday, Museveni vowed to close newspapers he said were "vultures" meddling in security issues with their speculations about Garang.
He highlighted the Red Pepper.
"I thought those were confused young boys busy with naked girls," he told the crowds. "If they have gone from there to regional security, they must stop, or we will stop them."
Media reports in Sudan, where news of Garang's death triggered riots that killed at least 130 people, have been more restrained -- not least because two newspapers were suspended for a day over their coverage of the street violence.
One of the most inflammatory -- that government-aligned militia leader Paulino Matiep had also been killed -- fueled the north-south bloodshed. He later appeared on TV.
"This and additional false claims that other southern leaders had died sparked widespread panic," the International Crisis Group think-tank said in a report.
Eager to ally fears about the mechanical condition of his helicopter, Museveni drove almost 1,000 km (620 miles) to Yei in southern Sudan on Friday to pay last respects by Garang's coffin and assure mourners the chopper had been in good shape.
But he was criticized by the Sudanese government for suggesting "an external factor" may have caused the crash.
A spokesman said they were "pretty sure" it was an accident due to bad weather, and hoped all parties, especially Uganda, would stop issuing statements that were not based on facts.
(Additional reporting by Opheera McDoom in Khartoum)
AFP/File - Mon Aug 8, 3:34 PM ET
Chol Garang, 25, son of the late Sudane's Vice President John Garang speaks to reporters in Juba, on the eve of his father's funeral. Uganda's president Yoweri Museveni said the helicopter crash that killed Garang may not have been an accident.(AFP/Simon Maina)
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Garang's successor in Khartoum, vows to uphold peace
1 hour, 20 minutes ago (ps: installing a controllable puppet?)
Salva Kiir, successor to the late southern Sudanese leader John Garang, seen here on August 3, vowed to carry on his peace legacy as he arrived in Khartoum ahead of being sworn in as the country's vice president.(AFP/File/Tony Karumba)
Lt. Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit , pictured in Juba, southern Sudan Monday, Aug. 8, 2005, successor to Sudan's First Vice President John Garang, is to be inaugurated Thursday Aug. 11, 2005 as Sudan's first vice president and as president of the government of southern Sudan. Now stepping into Garang's shoes, the commander of the Sudan People's Liberation Army is taking up a political role, challenged with making unity with the north attractive to southerners _ even though he himself has espoused secession. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)
Salva Kiir, successor to the late southern Sudanese leader John Garang, vowed to carry on his peace legacy as he arrived in Khartoum ahead of being sworn in as the country's vice president.
"I'm happy to be in Khartoum after 22 years (away)," Kiir told reporters after he flew in from southern Sudan with security tight in the capital.
"Despite the fact that we have lost our hero, the man who brought peace, Dr Garang, we will continue with the same vision, with the same objective and we will implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement."
He was referring to the peace deal signed with the Khartoum government in January that ended 21 years of north-south war in Sudan, the longest running in Africa which cost two million lives.
Kiir urged Sudanese people not to resort to violence after deadly rioting shook Khartoum and several towns in south Sudan following Garang's death on July 30 in a helicopter crash.
"I'm appealing to all the people of Sudan, the people from southern Sudan in particular to remain calm and not to repeat all what has happened a few days ago," he said.
Kiir was greeted by Sudan's second vice president Osman Ali Taha as he stepped out of the plane after flying in from Rumbek in south Sudan.
Some 200 Sudanese dignitaries, including officials from Kiir's Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) and the ruling National Congress Party later shook hands with him inside the airport.
Opposition figures and religious leaders as well as community leaders from the north and south were among Kiir's welcoming party.
The authorities stepped up security in the capital and its suburbs ahead of the visit, deploying additional armed police and soldiers on the streets, which witnessed deadly riots in the wake of Garang's death.
Army troops could be seen lining the main avenue from downtown Khartoum all the way to the airport, two miles away.
There were no posters of Kiir on the streets or public buildings as was the case with the high-profile return to Khartoum of his predecessor on July 8, when a crowd of over a million people showed up at the city's main square to welcome Garang.
Kiir is due to be sworn as first vice president at a brief ceremony in Khartoum on Thursday, replacing the charismatic Garang who died only three weeks into the job.
One of the first challenges for Kiir, the former southern rebel military chief, will be to form a national unity government with former arch-foe President Omar al-Beshir -- a process interrupted by Garang's death.
The reconciliation cabinet and an autonomous government in south Sudan were due to be installed by August 9, in line with the January peace deal.
The United States, which invested much political capital into securing the January 9 pact, has expressed confidence in the SPLM/A and Kiir's ability to uphold the deal.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (L) places a wreath on one of the coffins of the victims of a helicopter crash during a funeral in the capital Kampala, Uganda August 10, 2005. The United Nations said on Wednesday 17 bodies had been recovered from the site of a helicopter crash that killed southern Sudanese leader John Garang, although Uganda has said only 14 were on board its chopper. REUTERS/James Akena
Red Cross officials carry the coffins of seven Ugandans who died in the helicopter crash with Sudanese First Vice President John Garang at the Entebbe military base, Uganda, August 9, 2005. Garang was travelling on Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's helicopter back to southern Sudan after a meeting with him on July 30, 2005 when it disappeared from radar screens. Sudan will present a report by September 1 into the cause of the helicopter crash that killed all 14 people on board. UGANDA OUT REUTERS/Stringer
Reuters - Tue Aug 9,11:43 AM ET
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni stand next to coffin of late rebel leader and Sudanese Vice President John Garang in Yei village in southern Sudan August 5, 2005. The cause of a crash that killed Sudanese Vice President John Garang in the Ugandan presidential helicopter is unclear, Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni said on Friday on a trip to mourn his friend. REUTERS/Radu Sigheti
A soldier salutes in front of the coffin of former rebel leader John Garang in Kurmuk village, Blue Nile region of Southern Sudan August 4, 2005. Thousands of distraught and disbelieving south Sudanese on Thursday flocked to see the body of John Garang, who led the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), as it was transported by plane around the vast region for a final farewell. REUTERS/Radu Sigheti
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