Machar’s office confirms invitation from Museveni for peace meeting in Uganda

JUBA – South Sudan’s First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny’s office has confirmed that Machar who doubles as the leader of the SPLM-IO has been invited to Uganda by President Yoweri Museveni for a retreat with President Salva Kiir Mayardit to discuss the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.

Last week, a senior presidency official told Sudans Post in an exclusive interview that Kiir and Machar are invited to attend a retreat on the implementation of the 2018 peace agreement in Uganda by that country’s President Yoweri Museveni as the country close in on the end of transitional period.

Kiir’s office has confirmed the invitation through the minister of presidential affairs Barnaba Marial Benjamin.

Speaking to Sudans Post in an exclusive interview on Tuesday, Puok Both Baluang, the press secretary in the office of the First Vice President and the Director of Information of the SPLM-IO confirmed the receipt of invitation and said the meeting was supposed to take place last year.

“Yes this is to confirm that the office of the First Vice President has received an invitation from the government of Uganda to discuss the implementation of the entire agreement,” Baluang said from South Sudan’s capital Juba.

“But due to reasons not disclosed to us, the summit had been postponed and now we have receive a letter of invitation that the retreat will take place this February,” the senior government and opposition official added.

‘Pressure parties to implement peace deal’

President Salva Kiir has previously called on the international community to support his efforts to conduct elections at the end of the transitional period in 2023, but Machar has indicated that elections won’t be free and fair without a unified security sector in place.

Baluang told Sudans Post that the SPLM-IO is urging the international community to support and pressure the parties to implement the entire agreement before the said elections are conducted to avoid contested results.

“The agreement has a lot of chapters and now we are still struggling with two chapters and this is why we are calling for the international community to support us, pressure the parties to implement the entire agreement so that we go for elections at the end of the transitional period,” Baluang said.