By Milton Olupot and Denis Ojwee

SOUTHERN Sudanese President Salva Kiir was yesterday involved in a plane mishap at Gulu airport as he was about to leave Uganda to return to his country.

The tyre burst as the Antonov aircraft taxied for take-off at about 9:00am.

Witnesses said the Sudanese pilot was able to bring the aircraft to a halt and the president was evacuated. Nobody was injured.

Kiir had been here for a working visit during which he inspected the disputed Uganda-Sudan border area in the company of President Yoweri Museveni.

His delegation included his internal affairs minister, Gier Chuang-Aloung, and the Central Equatoria State governor, Clement Wani-Konga.

Museveni’s presidential press secretary Tamale Mirundi yesterday quoted the pilot as saying that the plane had recently been in Russia for service.

In a telephone interview, he said Kiir had used the same plane to fly to Gulu on Tuesday. The aircraft flew back to Juba and returned yesterday morning to pick the president who had spent a night in Gulu after private talks with his host.

Tamale quoted the pilot as saying that although the aircraft could still fly, he preferred not to take the risk because he was not sure he could land it safely.

The Ugandan Government later provided a Fokker plane which returned Kiir’s team safely to Juba in the afternoon.

He explained that by the time the incident happened, Museveni had flown back to Entebbe in preparation of his trip to Trinidad and Tobago for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

“It was a minor accident. It was just the tyre that had a problem,” Gier Chuang said.

Gulu RDC Walter Ochora saw Kiir off at Gulu airport. “Everything is alright. Things have been sorted out well and the Sudanese president has peacefully flown back,” he said.

This is the second time a Sudanese leader has been involved in a plane accident flying home after a visit to Uganda.

On July 30, 2005, then Southern Sudanese President John Garang died after the Ugandan presidential helicopter he was travelling in crashed in a mountainous area.

He had been returning from a meeting in Rwakitura with Museveni. The accident was attributed to poor visibility due to a storm and the pilot’s failure to maneuver the plane over a mountain range close to the border with Uganda.

Garang died with six of his colleagues and seven Ugandan crew members.