Question NW165 to the President of the Republic
06 March 2024 - NW165
Powell, Ms EL to ask the President of the Republic
(1)What was the purpose of his meeting with Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo on 4 January 2024; (2) what are the reasons that his spokesperson, Mr Vincent Magwenya, referred to Mr Dagalo as the President of Sudan and later retracted his post on social media?
Reply:
1. The purpose of the meeting with General Mohamed Dagalo was to discuss the ongoing conflict in Sudan and the efforts undertaken to resolve the impasse.
General Dagalo provided a briefing on the initiative by the African Union and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in mediating between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and the participation of the people of Sudan and civil society in finding a lasting solution to the security and political challenges.
I conveyed to General Dagalo my commitment to engage with the other leaders of the Transitional Sovereign Council to encourage them to return to the negotiating table to address the current deadlock. I further conveyed my full support for the mediation efforts undertaken by IGAD and other regional initiatives to bring an end to the conflict.
2. I am informed that a caption on the images that were circulated erroneously referred to General Dagalo as the President of Sudan. A social media post on the Presidency’s X account – and not Mr Magwenya’s account – used the inaccurate caption. The post was immediately removed once the error was identified.