Peter Ogwang, Uganda's State Minister of Sports - Courtesy

Uganda’s Sports Minister, Peter Ogwang, has clarified his comments regarding the liberation of South Sudan, stating that they were made in good faith.

According to Mr Ogwang, he learnt many people were unhappy with his statement and clarified that his utterances were not in bad faith.

“I’ve also heard that some of the people are not happy with the statements which I made when I addressed our players. I want to say this; the statements are entirely not in bad faith,” he said.

He says he respects the sovereignty of South Sudan and its great people.

“I have a lot of respect for the sovereign of the Republic of South Sudan and I will continue to respect the brotherliness between Uganda and South Sudan and we are one.

“My origin itself dates back from Ethiopia, in the Republic of South Sudan, the Toposa are like my brothers and sisters.

“So, if there is anything which people are trying to impute out of my statements, I want to clarify and say it’s not in order. My statements were in good faith and I want to repeat, that I respect the people of South Sudan. They are great people,” he added.

The Ugandan Sports Minister went on to say, his intention was not to hurt anyone but to motivate his country’s players to win against their South Sudanese counterparts.

“My statements, we are not in any way to hurt anyone, but they were all to motivate our players to work hard and win the game, as it is always the norm of us whenever our national go out there to play.”