South Sudan’s First Vice President Riek Machar has been placed under house arrest in a decision that could reignite tensions in Africa’s youngest nation.
The move came on Tuesday after renewed fighting between tribal factions in Upper Nile State, which led to the arrest and detention of four top military officers allied to Machar’s party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO). The government also deployed troops around Machar’s house.
The government in Juba did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sources, however, indicated that Gen Gabriel Doup Lam, the Deputy Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF), the acting Chief of Staff of the SPLA-IO, the armed wing of SPLM-IO, was detained in connection to escalating clashes between the government army and Nuer youth militias known as the White Army, in Nasir, Upper Nile.
Pal Mai Deng, the spokesperson and chairperson of the SPLM-IO’s National Committee for Information and Communication, said on Tuesday that the detention of Gen Lam was “unlawful” and threatened that it could jeopardise the 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
“This action violates R-ARCSS and cripples the Joint Defence Board, a vital institution of the agreement responsible for the command and control of all forces. This act puts the entire agreement at risk,” said Mr Deng.
Machar is in government after a 2018 peace deal mediated by the regional bloc, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), settled on a transitional government of national unity (TGNoU) under which various factions that had fought each other shared power with President Salva Kiir.
Mr Deng said the SPLM-IO is also gravely concerned about the heavy deployment of SSPDF around the residence of Dr Machar, the chairman of the SPLM-IO.
“These actions erode confidence and trust among the parties and jeopardise efforts to de-escalate the current violence that erupted in Nasir County of Upper Nile State. We take this opportunity to call upon the guarantors of the agreement and partners to intervene to avoid a return to full-scale violence,” he said.
Nasir fight
This comes after the White Army announced that it had taken control of Nasir from the SSPDF after a series of fighting that started in late February.
Some critics attribute the fighting in the SPLM-IO controlled regions of Upper Nile, Abyei, Twic, Western Equatoria and Jonglei to the non-implementation of the peace agreement's security sector provisions, largely due to mistrust between signatories and lack of resources for cantonment.
Under the 2018 agreement, various pillars, including security sector reform, socio-economic programmes, and justice and reconciliation, were to be implemented to address the root causes of the war.
But a lack of money, political will and the general inability to move beyond the transitional period have slowed the processes.
In early February, South Sudan’s transitional coalition extended its term in office by 24 months, admitting that it had missed its own deadlines
However, President Kiir also sparked controversy after sacking several cabinet members in the TGNoU.
Edmond Yakani, the executive director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organisation (Cepo), told The EastAfrican that the violence in Nasir was on the rise, increasing the likelihood that the 2018 agreement and permanent ceasefire would be undermined and the country could return to full-scale war.
“We have seen a growing friction and tensions among the parties who are signatories to R-ARCSS following the violation of the permanent ceasefire in Nasir County.
“We feel this violence has a high chance of returning the country to war or making the revitalised peace agreement fail,” said Mr Yakani.
Presidency meeting
He called on the Djibouti President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh —the current chair of Igad— and the leadership of the African Union ad hoc committee of five countries – Rwanda, Algeria, Chad, South Africa and Nigeria, which are guarantors of the peace agreement, to quickly focus on South Sudan to de-escalate the situation.
Local media reported that several soldiers and militiamen had been killed in Nasir, raising the prospect of large-scale reprisals.
After the escalation in Upper Nile, Abyei, Twic, Western Equatoria and Jonglei, President Kiir convened a meeting of the presidency on March 3. It decided to deploy new SSPDF in Nasir to replace long-standing forces stationed in the area.
The meeting was attended by Dr Machar, Vice President for the Economic Cluster Dr Benjamin Bol Mel, Vice President for the Service Cluster Josephine Lagu and leaders of various political parties.
The writing had been on the wall for some time. In February, Dr Machar wrote a letter to President Kiir, calling for urgent dialogue to address worsening security situation, particularly in Upper Nile and Western Equatoria states.
However, Michael Makuei, the Minister for Information, who is also the government spokesperson, termed the letter as “unprocedural” and accused Dr Machar of releasing the details on social media before it reached the President. Mr Makuei described it as a “breach of protocol”.
Subscribe to continue reading this premium articleSubscribe to continue reading this premium article
