Gen. Gatwech won’t be ‘lured or bribed to negotiate fake peace’ with Kiir

KHARTOUM, MAY 20, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – South Sudan’s holdout main armed opposition commander and leader of the SPLM-IO Kitgwang faction Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual has said that he won’t be lured to negotiate what he said would be a fake peace deal with President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s government in Juba.

In a statement reacting to the return of the Agwelek leader General Johnson Olony Thabo to Juba this week, Gatwech said that Kiir had used his security advisor Tut Gatluak and director-general of National Security Service Gen. Akol Koor Kuc to dismantle the main armed opposition SPLM-IO Kitgwang faction by creating infighting within the group.

“The SPLM/A-IO KD leadership is here to inform it members, the opposition alliance members and to the general public that the bribing mission which was planned by the President Salva Kiir Mayardit to dismantle the SPLM/A-IO KD through his presidential Security Advisor, Hon Tut Gatluak Manimeh and the Director General of NSS, Gen Akol Kur Kuch has finally come to light after flow of Agwelek militia leader Gen Johnson Olony and his senior officers to Juba on 15 May 2023,” he said.

“In 2022, the government in Juba had use a proxy war by supporting Agwelek leader Gen. Johnson Olony Thabo against the SPLM/A-IO KD and innocently targeted civilians of greater Fangak counties. President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his first vice President Dr. Riek Machar are the same coin, they both failed the people of South Sudan, and they will be held responsible for any crimes which were Committed during the War and also for delaying a durable peace,” he added.

Gatwech in the statement extended to Sudans Post said that all the peace agreements signed by the government with opposition groups have been dishonored by President Kiir and that South Sudan has no national army despite the 2018 revitalized peace agreement provided for a unified army before end of the transitional period.

“The Peace Agreement 2015 and Revitalized Peace Agreement 2018 which were signed by the parties to the Agreements were dishonored by the President Salva Kiir and equally collapsed. At the moment, South Sudan as a Country has no National army and other Organized Forces since 2013 until now,” he said.

“As a leader of SPLM/A-IO KD, I assure the revolutionary members of the SPLM/A-IO KD and the general public that, I will never be lured or bribe to negotiate a fake peace with government in Juba and the only solution is to remove the current regime from power by any means to free all the 64 tribes from long suffering and injustice under the rogue regime in Juba,” he added.