BY DAK BUOTH RIEK GAAK
The Tumaini Initiative is a National Project of South Sudanese by South Sudanese and for South Sudanese People who are yearning for peace in our motherland. As you have heard and seen with your naked eyes, the discussions are taking place outside our country’s borders. However, it is still South Sudanese owned, because it is guided by the traditional mediation principles of self-determination and impartiality, which accord the warring parties the right to make an independent and voluntary decision, regarding the resolution of the emotive issues in dispute.
It is worth noting that the Tumaini initiative is an extension and continuation of the Rome Peace Talks which began in 2019.
In December 2023, the negotiations were transferred and referred to Kenyan President Dr. William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto who later invited and involved new parties and new mediators to help him find an amicable solution for South Sudan. With the shift of venue from Rome to Nairobi, the composition and structure of the peace talks changed and even became larger. This meaningful change of structure was necessitated by the fact the process was not exhausted and finalized by the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome.
In a quasi-judicial process like this mediation, we apply the principle of ‘res judicata’ which bars the disputants from reopening the case somewhere else. This is to say, if the Rome Peace Talks were brought to their logical conclusions, then there could be no reason to reopen and reintroduce them either under the same mediator or a different adjudicator.
The Tumaini Initiative is not just a living but a walking document akin to a fetus which has the effects of changing the physical look of the mother who carries her in the womb. South Sudan is pregnant with the new peace deal.
Soon and very soon, our country will give birth to a baby that will restore the joy of lasting peace in our land. Eventually, this peace will afford us a chance to bring back our exiled freedom fighters and leaders such as General Stephen Buoy Rolnyang of SSPM/A, General Pagan Amum of Real SPLM, General Paul Malong of SSUF and General Loku Thomas Jada of NAS RCC, to mention but a few.
Fortunately, even though the Tumaini initiative is still in our country’s worm, it has since produced the following impacts on our country’s political landscape.
Creation of full awareness of the status of R-ARCISS
The launch of the Tumaini Initiative on 9 May has given South Sudanese an opportunity to be fully aware that the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) is elapsing and fading away. This awareness of the status of R-ARCSS leaves them with three fundamental questions. Firstly, will the de facto government extend the period of ARCSS for the third time? The possible answer to this question is yes. They can extend it again as they have always done, but the issue is that extensions per se are not a good option considering the statement by Albert Einstein that “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results.”
Secondly, will South Sudan go for a crush plebiscite? I am afraid that they may think of that because we have seen from government’s activities over the last two years. But another question is: will that election be free and fair? The answer is no. The third and final question is: is the Tumaini Initiative a panacea for the problem of stagnation facing South Sudan? The answer is yes because the Tumaini Initiative focuses on generating a rescue, hope, and progress to be achieved through the making of a new constitution without which there can be no election in South Sudan.
The disbandment of the National Transition Committee
On 5 July 2024, National Minister of Information Michael Makuei Lueth, who doubles as a government delegate to the Tumaini Initiative, announced the disbandment of the National Transition Committee (NTC) on grounds of mismanagement and failure to deliver on its mandates. The NTC was constituted by chapter 7 of the ‘defunct’ Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS). Also, this latest political move sent packing the Honorable Tut Gatluak Manimee and Stephen Par Kuol, who served as the NTC Chairperson and Secretary General respectively. In law, we can describe the NTC and its office holders as ‘‘functus officio,’’ which means an officer or institution whose mandate is finished either because of the expiry of tenure or accomplishment of duty assigned to him or her.
Alternatively, the NTC will now be replaced by the National Implementation Oversight Commission (NIOC), a body provided for by the Tumaini Initiative. In addition, the public disbandment of NTC conveys a straightforward message that the implementation of R-ARCSS has stopped pending the signing and subsequent implementation of the Tumaini initiative. More importantly, the rapid disbandment of NTC ahead of the signing of the Tumaini Initiative justifies that President Salva Kiir means the words he used to persuade President Ruto to help him mediate peace in South Sudan. This is undisputed commitment and dedication to peace proven by demonstrating a political goodwill.
Thus, we can proudly say that South Sudan is loaded with a new peace deal that cannot be aborted by cynics and critics of the Tumaini initiative.
The use of the Tumaini Initiative as the political shield by SPLM-IO
Since December 2023, the Tumaini initiative has dominated public discourses both in and outside the country. It is now a tangible document that we can authoritatively refer to in our debates concerning the future of South Sudan. Fortunately, the Tumaini Initiative is already in use as a binding document in South Sudan. For instance, on 7 July 2024, First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar in his 4-page letter entitled ‘‘Resolutions of the SPLM-IO Political Bureau on recent statements by the chairpersons of the National Elections Commission (NEC), Political Parties Council (PPC), concerning the elections and the passing of national security service Act 2014 (Amendment) Bill 2024 by Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA),’’ applied Tumaini Initiative as one of his legal authorities to reject the following inter alia; One, statement of the Chairperson of the Political Parties Council (PPC) on declaring the deadline for the closure of the registration of political parties on 30th June 2024. Two, the statement of the Chairperson of the National Election Commission (NEC) on the declaration of the election date which is said to be 22nd December 2024; and third, the passing of the National Security Service Act 2014 (Amendment) Bill 2024 by the Revitalized National Legislative Assembly (R-TNLA).
In part, Dr. Riek Machar strongly defended his protest against what he termed as a one-man declaration of the election date. He avers that the Chairperson of NEC unilaterally announced the date of the election to be 22 December without putting into consideration “the ongoing Tumaini Initiative in Kenya, aimed at bringing on board the Non-signatory and opposition groups in support of the implementation of the R-ARCSS to achieve durable peace.” I believe Dr. Machar won in the court of public opinion because the three positions advanced by the above-mentioned commissions sharply conflicted not just with the ‘defunct’ ARCSS that they created, but also with the Tumaini Initiative which is the political future of South Sudan.
Political Statement of Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin and others
On 6 August 2024, the leader of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin, and others emerged by penning a 7-page document entitled “Position of NDM and PNU on the Tumaini Initiative,” in which he began by taking us down memory lane, explaining what they thought could have been done before the commencement of the Tumaini Initiative.
Dr. Lam Akol is now on record for making a controversial and conspicuous statement that “on the premise that the Tumaini initiative was to consider the inclusion of the non-signatories of the R-ARCSS, it should have kicked off with these opposition groups tabling in the talks the reasons which led them to reject the agreement when it was signed on 12 September 2018.” He went on to opine that “This paper is an attempt to wade through the morass to chart a way forward amid the lack of clarity that has been associated with the Tumaini Initiative.”
First and foremost, I did not expect a person of Dr. Lam’s caliber to speak out very late on a national matter like the Tumaini initiative. I recall he returned to Juba on 31 July 2023, which means he had been around and was aware of the Tumaini Initiative. Nonetheless, it was unfair for him to come out in August, narrating how they think the Tumaini Initiative could have been started, and not how it should end successfully.
Finally, though their political thoughts and suggestions are valid, they are time-barred, because they came out to express themselves long after the initialing of the main protocols preceded by the declaration of principles.
The Writer is the National Chairperson of Legal and Constitutional Affairs of SSPM/A and can be reached via eligodakb@yahoo.com.
The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.