Kiir and Machar fail to agree in Nairobi

June 27, 2015 (NAIROBI) – Rival leaders in South Sudan failed to agree on the way forward in their Saturday consultative meeting under the auspices of Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, rebels’ foreign relations official revealed to social media.

“The meeting between Former Vice-President and Leader of SPLM/SPLA Dr Riek Machar Teny and President Salva Kiir Mayardit hosted by President Uhuru Kenyatta on June 27, 2015 had not achieved any breakthrough,” said Ezekiel Gatkuoth, deputy chairman of national committee for foreign relations.

He said the meeting failed to bear fruits when president Salva Kiir allegedly refused to discuss the agenda which included federalism, compensation and reparation as well as power-sharing in the two regions of Bahr el Ghazal and Equatoria.

Gatkuoth also revealed that Kiir complained in the meeting at the State House as to why he was called to Nairobi by president Kenyatta while he already sent his foreign minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, to Johannesburg, South Africa, and briefed the recent African Union summit of heads of state and government about their position on IGAD proposal.

President Kiir who did not address the AU summit in Johannesburg despite the fact that he was also present in South Africa at the time instead delegated Marial to talk to the AU leaders, with the message that they rejected the IGAD-Plus proposed peace agreement.

“President Kiir was asked by Dr. Machar if he is for IGAD and Kiir said in present of President Kenyatta that “We rejected the IGAD Draft Agreement Proposal and we rejected the IGAD Plus but if we are called for a meeting we will attend,” Gatkuoth further revealed.

“President Kenyatta declared the meeting over and concluded he has failed in this attempt to bring peace to South Sudan,” he said.

He added that the rebel leader Machar reiterated his commitment to the peace process to end the war but also stressed the need to incorporate federalism, compensation and reparation of the victims of Juba massacre and beyond as well as extension of power-sharing ratios to the two other regions.

Rebels argue that if the two regions were not part of the power-sharing deal and reform agenda this would encourage these regions to continue with the war and reject a peace agreement which would only serve Upper Nile region.

The two leaders are also expected to travel to Arusha, Tanzania, for further bilateral talks on reunification process of the ruling SPLM party.

(ST)