By Chol D. Johnson
The Director General of South Sudan’s Traffic Police Service, Gen. Kon John Akot, has dismissed as false social media reports claiming he rejected a transfer to Northern Bahr el Ghazal State as police commissioner.
Gen. Kon dismissed the allegations circulating online, describing them as unfounded. “These are rumours and baseless information from social media,” he told reporters at his home in Juba on Wednesday.
The Police Chief vowed to pursue legal action against those responsible for spreading the claims. “I will not accept that and I will open a case,” he said.
According to Gen. Kon, the reports alleged that Gen. Kon refused to accept orders from Inspector General of Police (IGP) Gen. Abraham Manyuat Peter, insisting he would only take directives from President Salva Kiir Mayardit.
He said the claimed were based on fake documents circulated online.
The controversy follows an announcement earlier this week by IGP Manyuat, who reshuffled several senior officers and transferred Gen. Kon from traffic police to serve as commissioner in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, Awel town.
Gen. Kon stressed that he has not rejected the transfer and is waiting for an official letter from the IGP before traveling to his new posting. “I didn’t write any letter. Where will I get the stamp to write and stamp this letter?” he asked.
He added that he has remained at home since the reshuffle and questioned why only his name was trending on social media. “Why only me trending as refusing the transfer when more generals were reshuffled?” he said.
The police chief noted that transfers are routine in the service, recalling he was previously reassigned to Raja. He also criticized the circulation of false information, warning it could cause unnecessary conflict among the public.