The ‘group of four’ SPLM leaders Pagan Amum, Oyai Deng, Majak D’Agoot and Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth said they will travel to Kenya later this week to meet with the President Uhuru Kenyatta in an effort to bring peace to South Sudan.

Former SPLM Secretary-General Pagan Amum said yesterday the planned visit came at the invitation of the Kenyan president. He added that President Uhuru had sent a delegation from Kenya whom they would meet yesterday evening for some consultation on the trip.

The remarks came during a thanksgiving prayer ceremony at the house of D’Agoot, the former deputy minister of defense, who was detained along with the other members of the group from mid December until late April.

The ceremony held on Sunday under a theme “Stop the war and forgive One Another and Build Sustainable Peace in South Sudan” was attended by US Ambassador Susan Page as well as several senior members of the government.

Last week, the government of South Sudan stopped the four from traveling outside South Sudan. Government Spokesperson Michael Makuei said if the four did not ‘change their attitude’ they would be jailed again and the treason case against them reopened.

In remarks at the event yesterday, the former detainees urged forgiveness and not hostility toward their former captors. “Those who are fighting now are our brothers and our leaders during the struggle and we loved them because they are our brothers,” said Amum.

“So let us work together in possible manner to tell them to stop the war and sit down bringing back peace and healing the wounds that we brought to ourselves,” he said, stressing that people should forgive one another for the sake of peace.

Likewise, Majak D’Agoot told the gathering, “When I was in the detention center, I wasn’t able to speak, but today I can speak loud because I have left everything behind and forgive all what has happened. And we said the war must stop so that our people should not die.”

“South Sudan is beautiful because it has Dinka, Nuer, Bari, Latuku, Acholi, and all these groups of tribes constitute what we called languages of South Sudan. So if Nuer is angered with Dinka and sees that Dinka is the problem of South Sudan, there is no way for him and he can’t go and bring Ugandans or Kenyans to replace the Dinka as his brother,” Majak said.

He noted that many of those who lost family members in the struggle have not yet conducted their funeral prayers because people are still dying, stressing that South Sudanese need peace now and not tomorrow. He urged the religious leaders to play a vital role to mobilizing the youth not to join the war.

He also appeals to the government of South Sudan and SPLM/A-in-Opposition to stop the fighting now: “This is brother killing brother which has no end and no one will win it. It will only bring more destruction to the nation.”

The four release politicians have also expressed their willingness to meet rebel leader Riek Machar to urge him to bring peace to the country.  

Photos by Radio Tamazuj

Gallery photo 1: Dr. Majak D'Agoot, former deputy minister of defense

Gallery photo 2: James Hoth Mai and the wife of Sudan's former vice president Abel Alier

Gallery photo 3: US Ambassador Sudan Page with politician Bona Malwal

Gallery photo 4: Majak d'Agoot with his wife 

Gallery photo 5: Bishops of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan attending the prayer event at the house of Majak D'Agoot

Gallery photo 6: Friends and relatives of the former detainees gather for the event