South Sudan’s Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Michael Makuei Lueth said on Wednesday that military deployments and civilian disarmament alone would not end escalating communal violence in Warrap State, warning that some security personnel sent to restore order had instead aligned themselves with rival groups.
Speaking during a parliamentary debate on worsening insecurity in Warrap’s Greater Tonj area, Makuei said the violence could only be resolved by addressing its underlying causes and urged local leaders to take responsibility for ending the conflict.
“As stated by some of the honourable members, the solution to this problem is not in the security. It is how best we can address the root causes. It is not enough that we disarm them,” Makuei told Parliament.
He said previous deployments of security forces had not produced lasting peace.
“We have had a report. In the report it is clear some of the security organs, when they are sent there, go and join other camps. So it is not a solution also,” he said.
Makuei did not identify the security units involved, and the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and other security agencies could not immediately be reached for comment on the claims.
The minister said communities in Warrap, rather than security forces alone, hold the key to ending the violence.
“The solution is with the sons and daughters of the state,” he said, pointing to neighbouring Lakes State, where he said local leaders had helped reduce communal conflict by working together.
His remarks came after lawmaker Kornelio Mawien Dhor urged Parliament to summon senior government officials over worsening insecurity in Greater Tonj, alleging that some SSPDF soldiers had returned to their home communities with military-issued weapons and become involved in local fighting.
Makuei backed calls to summon the ministers of interior and defence, together with the governor of Warrap State, to explain the government’s response to the violence. He argued that Parliament should hear directly from those overseeing security operations before adopting any resolutions.
“I was expecting from the very beginning that we should have suspended the debate and summoned these people so that we deliberate in their presence,” he said.
He said the Ministry of Justice should not be summoned because its role is to prosecute criminal cases after investigations, rather than manage active security operations.
Instead, he said, responsibility for responding to the violence rests with the ministries of interior and defence, supported by the Warrap governor.
Makuei urged lawmakers to defer final decisions until ministers had briefed Parliament, saying members should make decisions “from an informed position.”
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