Igad gives Kiir peace mandate as Machar role is downplayed

Regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), has given South Sudan President Salva Kiir a leading role in returning his country on the path to peace in what appears to be a disregard of his nemesis Riek Machar.

On Tuesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta, Igad’s patron for South Sudan peace process, travelled to Juba where he met with President Kiir. The official statement released stated that the President was in Juba to offer support to peace process.”

“We are here to offer the people of South Sudan our support both moral and material,” said President Kenyatta when he addressed a joint media briefing with President Kiir at State House, Juba.

“You did not fight for independence to fight each other. We will continue encouraging you to ensure there is peace in South Sudan.”

But this trip was on the advice of US Secretary of State John Kerry who last week met with President Kenyatta and expressed concern for the events in Juba.

Sources told the Nation on Tuesday Mr Kerry advised Igad through President Kenyatta to support Kiir’s move to reach out to allies of Riek Machar.

The idea, sources added, is for Kiir to consolidate the transitional government by roping in more leaders from the Nuer peoples, Riek Machar’s ethnic group. Washington made this decision after concluding that Machar may be the disruptive element in the search for peace in the troubled country.

In July, violence erupted in Juba between guards of Machar and President Kiir, just three months after the two finally agreed to form a transitional government based on a peace agreement signed in August 2015.

But Dr Machar fled Juba, vowing never to return until a buffer provided by foreign forces is established.

When he toured Nairobi, Kerry appeared to defend Machar’s replacement with Taban Deng Gai, the man who was his chief negotiator in the peace agreement last year.

Though Gai has previously said he could step down if Machar returned, he later blamed Machar for stalling the peace agreement.

“It’s quite clear that legally, under the agreement, there is allowance for the replacement, in a transition of personnel, and that has been effected with the appointment of a new vice president,” Kerry said in Nairobi last week.

“It is easier for us now to implement the peace agreement because we have cohesion. When Riek Machar was in Juba, the issue of parallel armies was overused. We are moving very fast to have one national army by May next year,” he said.

Igad has officially called for Machar, thought to be in Khartoum for treatment, to return to the fold of the government. But Kerry advised the bloc to focus on strengthening Kiir’s government ahead of elections to be held within 30 months.

GRANT THEM KEY POSITIONS

The focus will mean bringing in Machar’s stalwarts to the transitional Kiir’s government and grant them key positions. Machar will still be welcome to return to Juba, but must not make any claims once the setup has been tightened, sources added.

It actually appears to be a carrot-and-stick offer to the Machar, according to sources. He will be offered asylum in one of the IGAD countries if he chooses to stay away from Juba, but as long as he doesn’t interfere with the running of the government. And once elections are held, it would mean Machar will have no stake to claim in the new government.

On the sidelines of the recent Ticad summit, diplomatic sources say South Africa offered to grant Machar long-term asylum and treatment to injuries he reportedly got while in hiding in South Sudan.

On Tuesday though, it appeared the new government as in full swing. Mr Gai has already travelled to Kenya and Sudan to seek for financial help following the crisis.

And when President Kenyatta touched down at the Juba International Airport, it was Mr Gai who received him and a full guard of honour mounted for him by the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army.
On his part, President Kiir said the Kenyan leader’s visit was symbolic as it shows that the regional leadership has not forsaken South Sudan.

“President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit is the first by a Head of State after our crisis and it shows the regional leadership is with us,” said the South Sudanese leader. President Kiir said the country is calm and that the government is running smoothly.