Gatwech threatens to dump peace deal over Kiir’s lack of will

JUBA – South Sudan opposition commander and leader of the breakaway SPLA-IO Kitgwang faction, Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual, has threatened to withdraw from the Khartoum peace agreement he signed with President Salva Kiir Mayardit over lack of will to implement the peace deal.

Gatwech in August last year announced an attempt to remove First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny as the chairman and commander in chief of South Sudan’s main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A-IO).

The announcement sparked opposition infighting and Gatwech along with other top SPLA-IO commanders formed a faction of their own and signed a peace deal with President Salva Kiir’s ruling faction in January 2022 in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

The agreement provides for the integration of Gen. Gatwech’s forces into South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) within a period not more than three months, but it has been around eight months since the agreement was signed without any step taken as a sign of the agreement’s implementation.

In June, Gatwech accused President Kiir’s close allies of working against him and the SPLM-IO Kitgwang, saying they are working to set him against his deputy, Gen. Johnson Olony Thubo, in order to paralyze the implementation process of the January 2022 agreement.

In a statement marking one year of the formation of the SPLM-IO Kitgwang, Gen. Gatwech reiterated his commitment to the implementation of the Khartoum peace agreement and achieving peace in South Sudan, but warned the international community that he should not blamed if he withdraw from peace deal over the persistent lack of will from President Salva Kiir Mayardit.

“I would also remind everyone in South Sudan including the custodians of peace and stability particularly the Republic of the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, USA, UK, UN, AU and IGAD who helped in the process of securing the independent to the people of South Sudan, should the government fail to implement the agreement signed, we would not be blamed,” Gatwech warned.

Gatwech further appealed to UN agencies and NGOs to help the floods-affected communities in returning to their normal lives.

“Last but not the least, I am appealing to the NGOs, UN and all the humanitarian service providers to stand firm in support of all floods victims in Greater Upper Nile region, help the needy in Bahr el Ghazal for food and support the displaced people of Equatoria who fled to different parts of East Africa to return home after a solid, durable peace is brought to them,” he said.

“Not to forget how the prolonged war had devastated our business community and deprived them of privileges of the country they willingly want to serve to compete in the regional and international markets,” he added.