Kiir invites Olony to Juba as disagreements with Gatwech deepen

JUBA — President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Monday invited opposition commander General Johnson Olony Thabo to return to Juba to contribute in peace-building process, saying the chapter of war has ended.

This comes just days after General Johnson Olony Thabo dislodged General Simon Gatwech Dual’s forces from Magenis, the headquarters of the SPLA-IO Kitgwang faction, sparking concerns among observers of possible opposition infighting.

Gen. Olony was appointed by Gen. Gatwech as his deputy in August last year when the two announced an attempt to remove First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny as chairman and commander in chief of the SPLM/SPLA (IO) in what would be known as Kitgwang Declaration.

In January, the two men signed a peace agreement with President Kiir’s ruling SPLM party, providing for the integration of their forces into South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) within a period of not exceeding three months.

But the agreement has not yet been implemented with the government going along only with General Johnson Olony, sidelining General Gatwech’s forces from the integration process.

Speaking to Sudans Post last week, Gatwech accused General Akol Koor Kuc, the director general of national security service, and Tutkew Gatluak, the presidential security advisor, of detailing the peace process by only dealing with Olony despite himself being the head of the group that signed a peace agreement in January with Kiir.

In a statement this evening, the presidency said Kiir met with a delegation of the Agwelek division under Olony and the president invited the opposition commander to return to Juba saying the chapter of war has ended.

“Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit met with advance delegation of the Agwelek Division under the command of Gen. Johnson Olony, the breakaway Kit-Gwang faction of the SPLM/SPLA-IO,” the presidency said.

“During the meeting, H.E. the President told the delegation that the chapter of war has ended in South Sudan and urged Gen. Johnson Olony and the King of Shilluk Kingdom to come back to Juba and join the path of restoring the Country towards peace and prosperity,” the statement added.

The delegation said that they will return to Khartoum to deliver Kiir’s message to General Olony “that South Sudan needs peace and prosperity for its people and they should come back home to collectively address the issues and move forward.”

The meeting between Olony’s delegates with the president this after will likely cause problems between opposition fighters loyal to Gatwech and Olony as the meeting said nothing about General Simon Gatwech’s fate.

Olony in an interview with Radio Tamazuj this afternoon claimed that he was still loyal to Gatwech and was still receiving orders from him.