Gen. Simon Gatwech ‘approves’ peace deal with government

SPLA-IO Kit-Gwang leader Gen. Simon Gatwech (Left) and President Salva Kiir (Right)

“The agreement was signed in Port Sudan on Sunday, 3 February, in the presence of Sudanese government representatives led by Gen. Ahmed Ibrahim Mufadal, Director of the General Intelligence Service.”

South Sudanese rebels led by Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual have approved a peace deal with Juba that was signed on Sunday in Port Sudan, the Sudanese army’s wartime capital.

Sudan’s military government has been instrumental in brokering the talks between South Sudan’s two warring parties.

Yahya Mohammed Othman, a senior diplomat at the Sudanese Embassy in Juba, told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday that the rebel group SPLA-IO Kit-Gwang faction, led by Gen. Simon Gatwech, had signed a key document aimed at ending the war on Sunday.

“The efforts of Sudan have succeeded in bringing together the Government of South Sudan and the SPLA-IO Kit-Gwang faction under the leadership of Gen. Simon Gatwech to reach a peace settlement. Both sides have agreed on a document that will ensure that Gen. Simon Gatwech joins the peace process and the transitional government,” Mohammed said.

“The mediation process through the Sudanese government started in the past period. Last week, a lot of progress was made, and a high-level delegation of the South Sudan authorities, led by the Director General of the Internal Security Bureau, Gen. Akec Tong, traveled to Port Sudan to put the final touches on the agreement with Gen. Gatwech,” he added.

“The agreement was signed in Port Sudan on Sunday, 3 February, in the presence of Sudanese government representatives led by Gen. Ahmed Ibrahim Mufadal, Director of the General Intelligence Service.”

According to the Sudanese diplomat, an advance team from the SPLA-IO Kit-Gwang faction will travel to Juba in preparation for the return of Gen. Simon Gatwech.

“Gen. Simon Gatwech’s return to Juba is just a matter of time. The actual steps have already started to ensure that there is peace in South Sudan,” he explained.

According to a document seen by Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, Gen. Gatwech informed his supporters that the SPLA-IO Kit-Gwang forces will be integrated into the national army and other organized forces within a 12-month timeline.

Gen. Simon Gatwech, according to the document, will be appointed as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the SSPDF before his arrival in Juba.

“The allocation of key positions within the national government, as well as at state and county levels, will be granted to the SPLA-IO Kit-Gwang… Upon completion of the initial phases, General Simon Gatwech Dual will travel to Juba, accompanied by Gen. Akec Tong and officials from the Sudanese government,” the document reads in part.

It remains unclear why Gen. Gatwech chose to reach a peace deal with the South Sudan government separate from the ongoing Tumaini Initiative talks in Nairobi, Kenya.

Reacting to the news, Edmund Yakani, a South Sudanese observer, emphasized that the pursuit of peace and stability remains the top priority for the people of South Sudan. He welcomed the news of General Gatwech’s peace agreement with the government.

“We hope this agreement will not follow the same pattern as previous deals, which were often signed with enthusiasm but later ignored. The true test lies in whether it will be implemented effectively, rather than simply becoming another document left unfulfilled,” Edmund said.

Who is Gen. Gatwech?

Gen. Gatwech was appointed Chief of Staff of the SPLA-IO in 2014, but he declined to go to Juba after the signing of the 2018 peace agreement unless the security arrangements were fully implemented.

In June 2021, Gen. Gatwech was relieved from his position and appointed by President Salva Kiir as a peace advisor for the presidency, an offer he turned down, saying he was not consulted and that it was an attempt to lure him to Juba.

In August 2021, Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual issued a communiqué following a meeting of SPLA-IO commanders in Kit-Gwang in Magenis, a northernmost town bordering Sudan, declaring that they had ousted Dr. Riek Machar as the leader of the SPLM/A-IO. In what has since come to be known as the Kit-Gwang Declaration, Gatwech declared himself the new leader and appointed Gen. Johnson Olony as his number two.

In January 2022, the SPLA-IO Kit-Gwang faction signed a peace agreement in Khartoum with the government. The Agwelek forces, led by Gen. Olony, also signed a separate agreement with the government at the same time. The Kit-Gwang faction, however, became disillusioned months after the peace deal and blamed the government for not implementing it.

Gatwech and Olony later fell out, with the former firing the latter, and their forces clashing several times. Olony would later say that he was for peace and willing to return to Juba.