Minister of Information Ateny Wek Ateny addresses reporters at a press briefing in Juba (Thursday, December 11, 2025). Credit: Eye Radio/Obaj Okuj

Information Minister Ateny Wek Ateny has dismissed reports of an alleged coup plot, saying the claims are based on rumors and unverified information. Ateny said his name and those of three other senior government officials appeared in a document circulating while he was in China attending a summit.

Speaking to journalists in Juba on Monday 31 August, 2026, the minister questioned how a coup could be carried out by civilians and insisted that no one is currently capable of overthrowing President Salva Kiir’s government.

“The non-existence of a coup is why it is being discussed. Because if there is no coup, people discuss it. But if there is a coup, they will not discuss it,” Ateny said.

He argued that President Kiir continues to enjoy support from his former colleagues in the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, making a military takeover unlikely.

Ateny also blamed the spread of the alleged coup reports on what he described as “rumor mongering” and the failure by members of the public to verify information before sharing it.

According to the minister, the document listed him as the first of four people allegedly involved in the purported coup.

He identified the other three as the Director General of the National Security Service, the Undersecretary in the Ministry of Transport, Paul Dhel Gum, and former Chief of Defense Forces Paul Nang Majok.

Wek said he was attending a conference in China when he saw the document circulating.

He questioned how he could have been involved in an alleged coup while outside the country and stressed that he is a civilian.

“I don’t know where civilians conducted a coup that succeeded anywhere in the world. I want to be told because maybe we are still learning,” he said.

Ateny maintained that the alleged coup did not exist and accused unnamed individuals of creating panic and portraying the government as constantly having to defend itself.

“The bad people who wanted the government to be seen always trying to defend itself, and to see people being panicked and going up and down, are the ones who create this,” he said.

Social media was floated with rumors of coup, days after President Kiir travelled to South Africa for a week visit in what his office describes as biliteral meeting with South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa.

The minister urged the public to verify information before sharing rumors, particularly claims concerning national security and political developments.