The Nairobi talks continue to face challenges amid differing interpretations and priorities among the factions.
Peace negotiations between the South Sudan government and some holdout groups were launched in Kenya on May 9, 2024.
The mediation is led by former Kenya army commander Gen.Lazarus Sumbeiywo, who also mediated the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 which gave Southern Sudan autonomy and later led to a referendum for independence in 2011.
In December 2023, South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir requested his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto to take over the mediation from the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome, complaining that the talks had taken long in Rome’s hands without resolution.
The mediation team expects negotiations to culminate to in a positive outcome and if successful, Gen. Malong, Rolnyang and Pagan Amum, who now leads his outfit operating under the banner of Real SPLM (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement) could return to the country and rejoin the government.
These political developments, analysts say, are likely to cause rift and changes in the government, with some powerful individuals close to the president expected to lose assignments to pave way for these individuals involved in the peace talks. Consequently, this is causing fear and resistance to the successful mediation process seeking to return competitors to powerful positions in the government.
But as these efforts are underway for South Sudan to find an everlasting solution the suffering of their citizens, there are reports that among the top handlers of the country, there a few who for fear of losing their influential positions are own undermining the peace initiative in Nairobi.
Sources say these forces are hellbent on discrediting and causing factions among the groups and this was seen when a faction rebel group denounced military solutions to the country’s crisis, saying sustainable peace can only be achieved through dialogue.
This followed a meeting on Monday between some members of the South Sudan United Front/Army (SSUF/A)-Nairobi Declaration and the Director General of South Sudan National Security Service (NSS) General Akol Koor Kuc in Juba. Gen. Koor is accused by many of being the unseen hand causing factions and hence failing the peace initiative.
The SSUF/A-Nairobi Declaration was formed on January 28, 2023, in Nairobi, Kenya. The group is a break-away faction from SSUF/A led by ex-army chief, Paul Malong Awan.
South Sudan’s former army chief of staff and leader of the rebel South Sudan United Front (SSUF), said the director of the national security services used violence to cause an uprising against president Salva Kiir.
In a statement issued, on Thursday, Paul Malong Awan claimed Akol Koor Kuc, Director General of the Internal Bureau of the National Security Services, is supplying rebel factions in Upper Nile and Jonglei states with weapons to fight among themselves and sending soldiers to Mundri and Nimule -Juba Road to cause havoc that would exacerbate the situation with the view of angry and hurting civilians to go out and protest against Kiir’s administration.
Koor fell out with the former army chief of staff, resulting in the removal of the former amid allegations that he was plotting to remove Kiir from power.
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However, South Sudan’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) party has called for unity within the transitional coalition government delegation in the Nairobi peace talks.
“Our position is that the R-TGoNU (Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity) delegation is one team representing the Government regardless of their different parties,” said Peter Lam Both, Secretary General of the ruling SPLM Party.
Lam’s statement to Radio Tamazuj on Friday comes amidst tensions and divergent views following the withdrawal of the SPLM-IO from the Nairobi Tumaini Initiative, a move he criticized as rendering the new peace efforts ineffective. SPLM-IO is said to be working in collaborations with internal saboteurs who fear that accommodating other groups will see them (Riek and others) lose power and hence deter them from succeeding at Nairobi. Like Gen. Koor, the 1st Vice President is another impediment to the Nairobi peace initiative because once it succeeds, his powers will be tamed and he won’t enjoy ministerial and departmental appointments like he does.
“If there are concerns as raised by the SPLM-IO chairman Dr. Riek Machar, it requires the team to discuss and bring it to the signatories to R-ARCSS [ Revitalized Agreement],” Both added, referring to the 2018 peace deal between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar.
“It is only then that they can decide to take a unilateral action if such decision goes against what they feel is genuine. There is no way the implementation process can be done in Juba by some of the members of the revitalized government leaving one political party out.”
Earlier last week, the transitional government and some opposition groups in Nairobi signed eight protocols addressing various critical issues, including security, ceasefire, communal violence, arms proliferation, land disputes, trust-building, humanitarian access, and the role of guarantors. However, the proposed National Leadership Council (NLC) has emerged as a contentious issue, with SPLM-IO expressing concerns over its potential to overshadow constitutional bodies.
