{"id":45205,"date":"2026-06-08T14:42:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T12:42:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=45205"},"modified":"2026-06-08T14:42:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T12:42:41","slug":"for-7-years-i-found-myself-fighting-battles-from-every-direction-malongs-wife-ajok-speaks-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/08\/for-7-years-i-found-myself-fighting-battles-from-every-direction-malongs-wife-ajok-speaks-out\/","title":{"rendered":"“For 7 years, I found myself fighting battles from every direction,” Malong’s wife Ajok speaks out"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Deng Athian<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Former Member of Parliament Ajok Wol Atak has publicly rejected allegations that she betrayed her husband, Gen. Paul Malong Awan, or played any role in his political and military activities.<\/p>\n

She cited that she was never involved in the opposition movement he later led.<\/p>\n

In a statement released on Saturday, Ajok broke her silence for the first time since the political fallout that followed Malong\u2019s departure from South Sudan in 2018.<\/p>\n

She said years of speculation and accusations had compelled her to set the record straight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was never a member of any political movement,\u201d Ajok said. \u201cI was simply his wife and the mother of our children. While we shared a family, our political ideologies were different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ajok recalled learning about reports linking her husband to a rebellion on April 9, 2018, after receiving a phone call from an Al Jazeera journalist seeking confirmation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI swear before God that I knew nothing about it at the time,\u201d she said, explaining that she had been away from home at a hospital when the reports emerged. \u201cMy response was simple: I was not the right person to confirm that information.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Ajok, the events that followed created tension within the family, as she faced accusations from different quarters. Some alleged that she opposed Malong\u2019s movement, while others claimed she was collaborating with government security agencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day reports and accusations were being brought forward,\u201d she said. \u201cThe situation created fear, insecurity, and suspicion.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former legislator said the breakdown in trust eventually led her to leave the family home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told my husband that since trust between us had disappeared, I would leave so that he could have peace of mind,\u201d she said. \u201cI could not continue living in an environment where every action was questioned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ajok said Malong accepted the decision, acknowledging the difficulties their relationship was facing at the time.<\/p>\n

She later travelled to Dubai, a move that she said generated further speculation and unfounded claims.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople claimed I had gone to meet security agencies and other groups,\u201d she said. \u201cThose accusations were painful because they were not true.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the period, Ajok described it as one of the most difficult chapters of her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suffered greatly,\u201d she said. \u201cEven when we were in the same house, neither of us could sleep peacefully because trust had been lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon returning to South Sudan, she said, the criticism and allegations continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor seven years, I found myself fighting battles from every direction,\u201d she said. \u201cSome of Gen. Malong\u2019s friends fought me, some of his enemies fought me, and my own enemies joined in as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ajok maintained that she never participated in the activities, decision-making, or political agenda of the South Sudan United Front\/Army (SSUF\/A), the opposition movement associated with Malong.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who know the truth can testify that I was never involved in the movement\u2019s political agenda,\u201d she said. \u201cI remained outside politics despite the assumptions many people made.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said her decision to speak publicly was driven by a desire to correct what she described as years of misinformation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not speaking out of bitterness,\u201d Ajok said. \u201cI am speaking because history should be based on facts, not rumors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy conscience is clear,\u201d she added. \u201cI leave judgment to God and to those who value the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement marks Ajok\u2019s first detailed public account of the circumstances surrounding her separation from Malong and the allegations that have followed her since 2018.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Deng Athian Former Member of Parliament Ajok Wol Atak has publicly rejected allegations that she betrayed her husband, Gen. Paul Malong Awan, or played any role in his political and military activities. She cited that she was never involved in the opposition movement he later led. In a statement[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":45206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Hon.-Ajok-Wol-Atak-former-National-MP-representing-SPLM-Aweil-East-Constituency-Women-List.-The-wife-of-Gen.-Paul-Malong-Awan-courtesy-photo.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45205"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45207,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45205\/revisions\/45207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}