South Sudan’s Information Minister Michael Makuei said Friday that the arrest of the First Vice-President, Dr. Riek Machar, was aimed at restoring calm and saving the country from further bloodshed.
South Sudanese security forces placed Dr. Machar, the opposition leader and First Vice President, under house arrest in Juba on Wednesday amid escalating political tensions, raising fears of a return to civil war.
South Sudan has been formally at peace since a 2018 agreement ended a five-year conflict between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and Machar—a war that killed nearly 400,000 people. However, relations between the two leaders, who have dominated the country’s politics for decades, remain strained.
Machar’s house arrest is widely seen as jeopardizing the peace agreement.
Addressing a conference in Juba, Makuei accused Machar of ordering his forces, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO), to attack the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) in areas including Tonga, Nyaluak, Wunkur, Wathel, and Rejaf since the beginning of March.
He said that as a result, President Salva Kiir ordered Machar’s house arrest pending investigation and the restoration of calm.
“The President of the Republic of South Sudan, who is in charge of the safety of the lives and properties of the people, who is in charge of the safety of the territory of the Republic of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, directed that the Vice-President, Dr. Riek Machar should be put under house arrest, pending investigation,” Makuei said.
“This is an exercise of powers vested upon him (Kiir), and this is why you might have heard that Dr. Riek Machar is under house arrest. He will be subjected to investigation to prove his innocence or guilt.”
“This action is dictated by the need for the protection of the hard-won independence for which our heroes and heroines shed their blood and sacrificed their lives. There is no joke about this, because this independence was not given to us on a silver plate. It was paid for with lives and blood,” Makuei reiterated.
The Minister accused Machar of sabotaging the 2018 peace agreement.
“All these efforts that are being exerted, and all these games which were being played are meant to derail the agreement. All that took place is to ensure that the agreement collapses, so that we don’t go for elections,” Makuei said.
Makuei said following the clashes between the army and the opposition, several opposition members had disappeared from the capital, including Gen. Wesley Welebe, the Minister for Water Resources and Irrigation Pal Mai Deng, and Oyet Nathaniel, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament.
He, however, denied reports that Machar’s wife, Angelina Teny, who is also the Minister of Interior, had been detained alongside Machar.
Makuei called on members of the SPLA-IO who had left the training centers to return, noting that the implementation of the agreement would continue.
“We call upon the brothers and sisters who have been misled and moved away or against the government to report to their respective units. Please come back to your unit,” Makuei said.
“If you are from the regular forces, the SSPDF, or from IO and you are not yet integrated, please come back to the containment site. If you are integrated and a member of the unified forces, report to your unified force,” he added.
“We will not question you. We also call upon the national and the regional international organizations to give a helping hand in terms of food and shelter to the communities affected by this disaster. The government also calls upon the national and regional and international organizations to support and report credible information in relation to the current crisis and developments,” he stressed.
Makuei assured that the government would continue to implement the agreement, as the detention of Machar would not derail the implementation.