South Sudan: Did flawed structures at Unmiss cost Lt-Gen Ondieki his job?

A decision by South Sudan peace mediators that allowed rebels to set up their camp near a United Nations base might have cost a top Kenyan commander his job.

On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sacked Lt-Gen Johnson Mogoa Kimani Ondieki as commander of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) after an investigation revealed that he had failed to protect civilians during the violence in Juba in July.

But Lt-Gen Ondieki, who yesterday returned to Nairobi, might have been a victim of flawed structures both within UNMISS and the power-sharing arrangement that allowed rebel leader Riek Machar to return to government.

And yesterday, Kenya rejected the dismissal and announced it was pulling out its troops, citing “disrespect” by the UN.

In a terse statement last evening, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the UN of taking the action without discussing the matter with Nairobi.

“The process leading to this unfortunate decision not only lacked transparency but did not involve any formal consultation with the Government of Kenya. This demonstrates complete disregard of our key role in South Sudan,” the statement said.

The decision has irked Nairobi so much it has announced it will no longer contribute to South Sudan’s peace process and will be pulling out its 1,229 troops.

Also yesterday, Juba said a provision for two armies should be blamed because it allowed the mediators to give a lot of leeway that compromised security.

“It is obvious that if you situate one army base near civilians and a fight breaks out, it could easily spill over to the civilians,” said South Sudan Deputy Ambassador to Nairobi Jimmy Makuach.

INEVITABLE DANGER

The report by an independent team appointed by the UN chief says the proximity of the UN base and civilian camps to the rebels posed inevitable danger to both UN staff and civilians.

“Opposition soldiers were placed less than a kilometre from UN House and civilian sites, putting IDPs and UN personnel in the crossfire should fighting break out,” the report says.

“International mediators working with the government and opposition at the time agreed that this was a necessary compromise,” it says.

Dr Machar, who signed a peace deal with President Salva Kiir in August last year, had demanded that his troops be allowed back into the country with some of their weapons and be based near the capital, Juba.

The agreement allowed for the existence of two armies, to be merged at the end of the transitional government. This was vehemently opposed by Special Representative Ellen Margrethe Løj, international security advisers and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army.

However, Dr Machar was allowed to come in with 1,200 of his troops and weapons.

In July, fighting broke out between government forces and his troops, commonly known as the SPLA-in-Opposition, resulting in the deaths of 250 people.

The Kenyan commander, appointed in May, has been accused of failing to protect civilians.

“The force did not operate under a unified command, resulting in multiple and sometimes conflicting orders to the four contingents from China, Ethiopia, Nepal and India, and ultimately underusing the more than 1,800 infantry troops at UN House,” the report charges.

Yesterday, Dr Machar’s spokesman, Gatdet Dak, agreed with the UN findings, saying the mission forces had failed to protect the people.

“Their weapons are superior. I think it was inaction, not a weakness,” he said.