South Sudan President Salva Kiir last week granted Red Belt Group Leader Leek Mamer Leek and 17 members of the outfit executive clemency and amnesty.
In October last year, SSPDF Chief Gen. Paul Nang warned that the Red Belt Group poses a major threat to national security and vowed to dismantle the group as joint security forces intensified operations to seize illegal weapons across the country. Gen. Nang insisted that Red Belt is not a community organization, as some have claimed, but “an armed group that must be dealt with decisively.”
President Kiir’s letter of clemency and amnesty, as seen by Radio Tamazuj dated 21 January, said that whereas the group known as the Red Belt Group has engaged in activities detrimental to the stability of the state, the president grants executive clemency and amnesty.
“Whereas, in the interest of national unity and the spirit of reconciliation, the President of the Republic exercises the constitutional authority to grant executive clemency and amnesty to specific individuals who have demonstrated a desire to disarm and desist from armed violence against the Government,” the letter reads in part. “Now, therefore, pursuant to the provisions of Article 101(q) of the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan, 2011 (as amended), I, Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan, do hereby Grant Full and Absolute Amnesty to some Members of the Red Belt Group Under the Leadership of Leek Mamer Leek.”
The letter said that the amnesty extinguishes any criminal liability for acts committed in furtherance of the Movement’s objectives up to the date of this Proclamation and that all civil rights are hereby restored to these 18 individuals.
For all other members, affiliates, and combatants of the Red Belt Group not listed above, the following orders are issued:
a) Immediate Cessation: All hostile activities and recruitment must cease immediately.
b) Mandatory Surrender: A period of twenty-one (21) days is hereby granted for all remaining members to surrender to the nearest designated military or police outpost.
c) Turnover of Armaments: Surrendering individuals must yield all weapons, communication equipment, and illicit materials to the authorities.
d) Due Process: Those who surrender within the stipulated timeframe will be processed through the National Reintegration Program and will be guaranteed fair treatment under the law.
e) Failure to surrender within the prescribed period will result in the immediate resumption of full-scale security operations. The State shall employ all necessary means to ensure the total dissolution of the Group and the prosecution of those who refuse this offer of peace and amnesty.
