The expulsion of announced in a letter by Chief Mediator Gen. Lazaro Sumbeiywo (Rtd.) last Thursday, has raised concerns about the inclusivity and effectiveness of the peace process, with critics arguing that the decision to remove PRM from the negotiations undermines the broader goal of bringing together all relevant parties to address the ongoing conflict in South Sudan.
In the letter dated August 22, Sumbeiywo informed Machar that PRM’s participation in the Tumaini Initiative was being discontinued due to the inability to achieve consensus among the parties involved. This suggests that the other parties participating in the negotiations were resistant to PRM’s continued involvement and not the mediation.
“We take note of the interest of the Patriots’ Resistance Movement to participate in the High-Level Mediation for South Sudan (Tumaini Initiative). To date, the Chief Mediator has allowed one delegate from the PRM to participate in plenary sessions of the Mediation and to otherwise contribute comments and provide input into the protocols under discussion,” the letter reads.
“However, it has come to a point where the Chief Mediator has been unable to achieve consensus from Parties and Stakeholders as to PRM’s continued participation in and accreditation to the process. Therefore, we regret to inform you that PRM must withdraw its delegate from the process and from the venue of negotiations by Friday, 23 August 2024,” it added.
Machar expressed disappointment over his expulsion but conceded to the decision. He harshly criticized the mediation process, accusing it of being manipulated by rival opposition leaders, including Paul Malong, Stephen Buay Rolnyang, and Pagan Amum.
The expulsion follows similar incidents in June where other political leaders, such as Dr. Emmanuel Sunday De John and Deng Vanang, were dismissed from the talks. Machar accused the mediators of yielding to the demands of a few powerful opposition figures, leading to what he described as “unscrupulous and unverified decisions.”
“We also appreciate the fact that your administration accorded PRM the space to take part in the Tumaini Initiative which culminated officially by issuance of invitation on the 11th May 2024, two days after the commencement of the talks on recommendation from the delegation of the government of South Sudan because you were less conversant with the existence of PRM and the situation of arms groups in South Sudan,” Laraka said in his respond.
“We are also grateful to your leadership during our stay from May to now for trying to reach an amicable understanding between myself, Paul Malong, Stephen Buay and Pagan Amum which was continuously dishonored for selfish reasons. Up to this time, we had hopes that the three leaders of SSUF/A, SSPM/A and R-SPLM would come back to their senses to build a correlative working environment with other South Sudanese leaders to make the process a meaningful one, but all our calls have fallen into deaf hears driven by greed and insincerity and for that reason, Tumaini Initiative will remain insignificant in the quest for total peace in South Sudan,” he added.
The Tumaini Initiative, launched by Kenyan President William Ruto at the request of South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit, aims to bring together opposition groups that have not signed the revitalized peace agreement. However, the expulsion of PRM has cast doubt on the effectiveness of the initiative given it is not the first organization to be expelled from talks at the request of other parties, particularly the SSOMA and SSPM.
Prominent South Sudanese activist Wani Michael, who is also taking part in the negotiation representing civil society, criticized the move, describing it as a “big blunder” by the Kenyan mediation.
“I find this kind of development disturbing and a big blunder from the mediators. I also find it disturbing that the mediators seem to be accepting to be controlled by some Opposition leaders. You don’t have to put the Opposition groups into one Coalition by force,” Michael said in a statement, referring to alleged insistence of the mediation to incorporate the PRM into the South Sudan United National Alliance (SSUNA) led by SSPM leader Stephen Buay Rolnyang.