Speaking to local community leaders in rural Upper Nile state on June 14, Ezekiel accused Machar of repeatedly resorting to armed rebellion in pursuit of power and dismissed any prospect of the SPLM-IO leader returning to political life.
“Riek Machar is killing people for one single objective: to be a leader. Whenever he is promised the position of First Vice President, he signs peace agreements,” Ghatkuoth said.
“But once he disagrees with the government, he rebels, saying that the people are being deprived of the presidency of South Sudan [by the Dinka], or that the Dinka are killing the Nuer, or that the Dinka are starving the Nuer. But he is lying. It is Riek Machar himself who is power-hungry,” he added.
Gatkuoth who has also served as petroleum minister then suggested that Machar’s detention would be permanent and that the main armed opposition leader will die in prison.
“Riek is in jail, and we are in Juba. If you ever see Riek Machar again, do not believe anything I say,” he said.
“When the opportunity to detain your enemy presents itself and you successfully detain him, what would make you release him. We will not kill him. We will not take his soul, but he will die in jail,” he added.
Machar was placed under house arrest on 26 March following escalating tensions between an ethnic militia that fought alongside his forces during the 2013-2018 civil war and government forces stationed in Nasir County of Upper Nile state.
The detention came weeks after fighting in Nasir County in Upper Nile State, where government forces and local armed youth clashed, culminating in the killing of senior SSPDF commander Maj. Gen. David Majur Dak and several others during a United Nations evacuation mission.
The government subsequently arrested several senior SPLM-IO political and military officials, accusing them of links to armed groups involved in the violence. The opposition has denied the allegations, insisting that Machar had no operational control over the fighters involved in the Nasir conflict.
The arrest of Machar has shaken the country’s already fragile peace process and created uncertainty among opposition supporters and ordinary citizens who fear a return to widespread conflict.
Political analysts and civil society activists have warned that prolonged detention of the opposition leader could undermine confidence in the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement, which ended a five-year civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions.
Machar is currently facing legal proceedings before a special court established by the government. The case has attracted significant attention both domestically and internationally, with opposition figures arguing that the proceedings are politically motivated while government officials maintain that they are necessary to address security concerns arising from the Nasir violence.
Ezekiel’s comments are among the strongest public statements by a senior government official regarding Machar’s future.
In an apparent effort to underscore his point, the minister compared Machar to Gatluak Manguel, a notorious figure in Nuer folklore and oral history who is remembered for cannibalism and is widely believed to have died in colonial-era prison in Malakal.
“Do you remember where Gatluak Manguel died? In jail, right? This [Riek Machar] is our Gatluak Manguel. He will die in jail. We have detained Gatluak Manguel. He will not eat anyone again,” he said.
The remarks are particularly notable given Ezekiel’s political history.
Before joining Kiir’s government, Ezekiel was one of Machar’s closest political allies and served as a senior member of the SPLM-IO. Following the outbreak of South Sudan’s civil war in December 2013, he became one of the opposition’s most prominent international representatives and played a leading role in peace negotiations.
His relationship with Machar later deteriorated, however, and he eventually defected to the government, where he emerged as one of Kiir’s most vocal supporters.
His latest comments come amid growing concern over inflammatory rhetoric by senior political and military figures on both sides of the political divide. Since the outbreak of the current crisis, several government officials and military commanders have publicly accused Machar and the SPLM-IO of treason, rebellion, and responsibility for violence before the completion of formal investigations or court proceedings.
Opposition officials have argued that such statements risk prejudicing ongoing legal processes and further inflaming political and ethnic tensions in a country still recovering from years of conflict.
International actors, including regional governments, diplomatic missions, the African Union, IGAD, and Western partners, have repeatedly called for restraint, dialogue, and respect for the peace agreement. Many have expressed concern over political arrests, restrictions on opposition activities, and rhetoric that could fuel instability.
