May 20th 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – The main South Sudan’s armed opposition group, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) said allegations that their leader and the country’s former first vice president Riek Machar Teny nominated his wife, Angelina Teny, for the position of the “third vice president” are untrue.
Manawa Peter Gatkuoth, a member of the armed opposition group SPLM-IO under the leadership of the contry’s former first vice president Riek Machar Teny, and a member of the group’s delegates to the peace talks in Addis Ababa, told the Nyamilepedia on Sunday that the group’s chairman has not nominated any body to any position addinf that it is tactic by the “enemies of peace” to harm the already fragile peace process.
“The white lies flying on the social media that Dr. Riek Machar have nominated Cde. Angelina Teny as Assistant Vice President of South Sudan are baseless and unfounded. It’s a tactic by enemies of peace machinated to cause further harm to already fragile peace process,” he said.
Gatkuoth pointed out that there is no any related deliberations at the peace talks over the said Assistant Vice President.
“There’s no such a thing agreed as Assistant Vice President,” he said.
On Sunday, the SPLA military spokesman Brig. Lul Ruai Koang said in a post on his social media Facebook page that the country’s former first vice president have nominated his wive, Angelina Teny, who also serve as the head of the SPLM-IO National Committee for Security and Defense, for the position of vice president.
“A potentially destructive struggle for power is looming within SPLA IO. Sources at ongoing peace talks in Addis Ababa revealed Dr. Riek Machar Teny nominated his Dear Wife Hon. Angelina Teny for position of First Vice President,” Lul said quoting “sources” at the ongoing peace talks.
South Sudan descended into civil war in December 2013 after forces loyal to the country’s president, Salva Kiir Mayardiit and his then Governor of Northern Bahr Al-Ghazal State Gen. Paul Malong Awan went door-to-door in the capital Juba killing civilians belonging to the Nuer ethnic group sparking a nation-wide protests from top army generals from the Nuer leading to a civil war.
A peace agreement signed in August 2015 by President Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar and negotiated under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the African Union (AU) in presence of Troika and other international observers collapsed in July 2016 following fighting at the presidential palace in Juba “J1” reportedly after President Kiir ordered a failed attempt to arrest the SPLM-IO leader Riek Machar.
Late last year, the IGAD decided to revive the peace agreement and had initiated a peace revival mechanism known as the High-Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) to bring back to life the 2015 peace agreement. Peace talks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa resumed on Thursday with little optimism as President Kiir said he is unwilling to accept the return of the country’s former first vice president and two armies both of whom are major opposition demands.
The IGAD has given the negotiating parties May 21st as the ultimatum to sign peace but it is still unclear what would be the consequences in case the warring parties do not meet the dateline.
