By. Mak Banguot Gok (Makjohnson),
(Photo credit: ALBERT GONZALEZ FARRAN/AFP/Getty Images)
July 2, 2021 — Dr. Riek Machar would have been at a standstill and not rushed for the relief and replacement of SPLM/A-IO army Chief Simon Gatwech. The question as to “why Machar rushed to remove and replace the army Chief) is yet to be answered. This is because of the times and all that people are hearing to be the reasons for substitution of the revolution’s military icon such as Simon Gatwech, make the plans entirely disastrous and we shouldn’t go on with.
Hence! The removal and appointment of the SPLM/A-IO army Chief to invisibles nonmilitary post (Peace Advisor) has been envisaged by only Machar and Kiir without first consulting with the SPLM/A-IO military leadership. No one was informed and, therefore, a unilateral decision that caused instability within the army command! What was on the table was the issue of mistrust between the army command and the handpicked Juba-bases ‘SPLM/A-IO Security Chief (Dhiling Keak). With all eyes and ears on what the Chairman ought to do in this regard, the army was shocked by unjust relief of the Chief.
There are no notices of the reasons for an increasing mistrust that led to the Chief’s abrupt termination from active services altogether. It may sound easily normal for the relief whence taking into the consideration the acts of others organized systems. But, when there is a similar attention-needed form of restructuring, people’s concerns are to be informed. No one was informed nor a reason has been given!
And, to make the matter worse, Machar’s actions have coincided with the rift between Machar’s cousin (Dhiling) and the army Chief. That makes many of the concerned members of the SPLM-IO wondering as to whether the chairmen’s action was inspired and coupled with nepotism! For the reasons aforementioned, many of the SPLM-IO enthusiasts are unhappy with the dimension through which, SPLM-IO Chairman’s actions sometimes collide with/and are accompanied by suspicious realities as being associated with nepotism. Many of the SPLM-IO Chairman’s similar commissions have characteristics of favoritism. These and others many reasons makes it undeniably what led to the receptions of SPLM-IO Chairman’s action to may be sided with people of his kin’s. And therefore, it’s somewhat inconsistent with the best interests of the movement’s objective. The SPLM-IO movement is bigger than some very few kisses and kins. The SPLM-IO Chairman would have been waiting as everyone was expecting all the works of restructuring the SPLM-IO movement, including retirement steps (whence the right time for sending homes of an aged veterans for a decent retirement) as not today whence a solution to the conflict is far a way.
Equally the same, we believes that, if indeed the very idea by the C-in-C to layoffs the long served revolutionary icons was for mitigating the welfare of the aged general, I mean (if may be Machar is more convinced of his current engagement with Kiir in peace implementation, and therefore, according to Machar may be this comes the times for a unification of the conflictingly cantoned forces, and perhaps he “Machar” has properly thoughts-provoking that, he wanted to award his army Chief with a political post so that the Chief benefit from Peace Agreement as others), I think the time for doing that is not now because:
First, the R-ARCSS is largely not being implemented by the parties to the agreement. What is happening in Juba obviously differs with the very versions of the peace agreement. There are plenty of supportive justifications that lack of political will in regard to the R-ARCSS is detrimentally agitating their commitment to the real and faithful implementation of the agreement. Lies and negative promises have proven to be frequently unrealistic. Juba is not safe if hopes are on how the parties engage with the R-ARCSS.
Security arrangements, including the most awaiting graduation of the necessary unified forces, and therefore, the formation of a unified defense system which was the prime objective of the R-ARCSS, has never been made.
Instead,the bizarre situation of having two standing conflicting armies with different command structures will still continue forming the basis of the security system of South Sudan.
South Sudan is still a country of a fragile government with two separate armies. This makes only the trains in motion for any time that the two armies can fight. Why should the SPLM-IO movement bother putting in jeopardy the movement’s army forces, hence other sides entrenching it’s own instead! These issues of unimplemented security arrangements make it certain that any steps taken by the SPLM-IO Chairman is fatal. At the point, it is true that, we are at an interlude and, if as today that South Sudan continuous without proper political solution reached for the conflict which cost thousands of innocent lives, it is only a matter of time and therefore an occurrence of a sparks attention that may cause trick and easily return us back to the active conflict. So………….!!!!!
The author, Mak Johnson, can be reached through email at johnsonmak61@gmail.com
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