Presidential spokesperson Ateny Wek Ateny said they have not yet made a decision to hold a public reception for Riek Machar who is scheduled to return to South Sudan's capital Juba on 18 April.

Ateny said a reception committee has been formed to receive Machar, who is South Sudan's First Vice President Designate, but a public reception will depend on security situation in the city.

"There are no decisions at this time for a popular reception," Ateny said, while not explicitly saying that the government would stop such a rally.

Meanwhile, internally displaced citizens sheltering inside the UN Protection of Civilian’s Site in Juba are preparing to receive Machar, a camp leader said.

Duom Kubuong, a community leader in the camp predominantly occupied by the Nuer tribe, told Radio Tamazuj that arrangements to receive the armed opposition leader are directly supervised by leading members of the SPLM-IO within Juba.

The camp leader said SPLM-IO head of information team in Juba William Ezekiel visited the UN base recently and requested the displaced people to come out in order to receive Riek Machar who is expected to return to Juba soon.

He added that one of SPLM-IO youth leaders went also to the UN camp in order to set up reception committees comprising of women and youths. 

“Yes, with regard to the preparation for the reception, there is a guy called William Ezekiel, he is a member of the SPLM-IO advance team, he came to prepare for the reception. One of the SPLM-IO youth leaders who was in Pagak came here also to form committees for the reception of the first vice president,” said Kubuong. 

Kubuong pointed out that the IDPs do not fear to come out of the UN site, saying there are no fears anymore after the armed opposition faction returned to the capital city.

The SPLM-in-Opposition leader Riek Machar had declined a proposal by the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) that he return to Juba with an accompany delegation of 75 members on 12 April, instead proposing a date the following week.

JMEC, which is overseeing implementation of South Sudan’s peace deal, invited the first vice president designate to return to Juba on 12 April, and offered to facilitate the first meeting between Kiir and Machar on the same afternoon of his arrival.

Taban says Kiir ignores his letters

Meanwhile, Gen Taban Deng, the head of the advance team of SPLA-IO in Juba, said that President Salva Kiir did not reply to three letters sent in March asking the president to organize an inclusive reception committee comprising government, former detainees, SPLM-IO, and other political parties.

"I wrote three letters to President Salva Kiir but he never replied any of them," Taban said at an event with SPLM-IO supporters at Dembesh Hotel on Saturday. Taban said he copied Riek in on the letters, and notified diplomatic missions in Juba after he received no response.

He said the letters were dated 11, 16, and 30 March.

Separately, Lam Akol, leader of the opposition Democratic Change Party (DCP), said there was no any formal schedule by the JMEC with regard to the return of the armed opposition leader to Juba on 12 April.

He pointing out that this schedule was under discussion only, while expecting the arrival of 1,370 SPLA-IO troops to Juba first before the return of Riek Machar.