On March 26, 2025, while accompanying the newly appointed Minister of Local Government and Law Enforcement Agency, Bol Akoon Akoon, to Aweil in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State for his swearing-in ceremony, I was shocked to receive the news of the house arrest of the First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar, at his residence in Hai Amarat.
This action was ordered by President Salva Kiir and carried out by senior state security officials, the Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, the Director of the Internal Security Bureau, and the Chief of Staff of the SSPDF, along with their military tanks and armored vehicles. A large security team stormed Dr. Machar’s compound. No formal charges were presented to him during the 30-minute discussion. Instead, Dr. Machar was linked to the clashes in Nasir County between the White Army and SSPDF forces.
After his arrest, a disturbing military operation was launched by the SSPDF, alongside mercenaries from Uganda, against SPLA-IO cantonment sites. Senior SPLM/SPLA-IO political and military officials, including Puot Kang, the Minister for Petroleum; TNLA MP Gatwech Lam; Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam, SPLA-IO acting chief of staff; and Dr. Isaiah Alfred Akol Mathiang, the Deputy Governor of Lakes State, were arrested. There were attacks, including aerial bombardments, in Upper Nile and Equatoria regions in an apparent failed attempt to eliminate the SPLM/SPLA-IO leadership.
The consequences of this unlawful arrest and military aggression have been devastating. Thousands of innocent civilians have been displaced to neighboring countries, and hundreds more have lost their lives at the hands of a government meant to protect them. Today, the majority of South Sudanese lack food, medicine, and shelter. Others struggle to find roadside meals in Juba and other places.
The house arrest of Dr. Machar, without any legal basis, has dangerously undermined peace efforts and threatens the very foundation of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGONU). It is evident to the people of South Sudan that the allegations were fabricated to divert attention from internal crises within the political elite—a tactic of avoidance rather than engagement.
The SPLM-IG political crisis should not be settled at the expense of South Sudanese citizens who are struggling to put food on the table. Let me make this clear to the hardliners of the status quo and the intellectual mercenaries who oppose Dr. Machar due to their tribal sentiments: There is no legitimate case against the First Vice President. His accusers fear what they cannot win in a democratic contest and have instead resorted to undemocratic means to weaken his influence. That is mischief, and they will not succeed.
We shall rescue this country from the hands of cartels and political brokers. The continued disregard for the calls by the international community—including the African Union, IGAD, the UN, the European Union, and regional leaders—to release Dr. Machar and resume dialogue will cost South Sudan more than we can afford.
For three months now, the Council of Ministers has not convened. Parliament has been inactive. The entire R-TGONU is paralyzed and risks collapsing entirely unless urgent steps are taken. I call upon President Kiir, upon his return from the United Arab Emirates, to take decisive action. Let him declare a national dialogue on July 9, 2025, release Dr. Machar, and restore the full implementation of the R-ARCSS in both letter and spirit.
The legitimacy of R-TGONU is at grave risk. Without immediate dialogue and commitment to peace, South Sudan risks international isolation at a critical moment in our history. A democratic transition cannot be built on silence, suppression, or political exclusion, as the SPLM in Government seems to think.
The writer, Dut Majokdit Nyikok, is a member of the SPLM-IO Political Bureau and former Chairperson of the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, NBGS–Aweil, based in Juba.
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