The South Sudan government and the opposition groups at the Nairobi peace talks have disagreed over drafting of the permanent constitution in neighbouring Kenya.
The holdout groups were proposing that the first phase of the crafting be held in Nairobi, and the second one in South Sudan, but the government rejected the proposal.
Addressing journalists at a press conference in Juba on Friday, Information Minister Michael Makuei said they rejected the proposal made by the opposition because the constitution-making should be done and owned by the South Sudanese.
“Our major point of disagreement is this; the opposition is saying that the constitution-making should be conducted in Kenya and then brought to South Sudan, and we are saying No,” Makuei said.
“Constitution-making should be done and owned by the people of South Sudan. There is no way we can draft it outside South Sudan,” he added.
Makuei, who is also the government spokesperson, said the transitional government only had the technical and financial support to draft a permanent constitution owned by the people of South Sudan.
“They [opposition groups] said the constitution of Kenya was drafted in Britain, and the constitution of Somalia was drafted in Kenya, and they quoted some many others, but it turned out that those constitutions were for independence and so we came up with our interim constitution, and we drafted it here in South Sudan. What is that that can make us go outside and start drafting our own permanent constitution? This permanent constitution should be drafted here in South Sudan,” Makuei said.
“We are only negotiating to strengthen the implementation of the mechanisms. We have found two things in the implementation of the current agreement: one is a weak institution for the implementation, and the other is a lack of funding,” he added.
Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister Gabriel Changson Chang said: “Part of it is the fear that when it is done here in South Sudan, there will be intimidation, and people will fear to speak out and tell the truth.”
Changson, who is a leading member of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance, which is part of the current transitional government, said that once the peace agreement is signed in Nairobi, measures will be put in place to safeguard against the fears.
However, multiple opposition sources at the Nairobi peace talks told Radio Tamazuj that they want the first phase of the constitution-making process to be held in Kenya to allow the delegates drawn from South Sudan and the diaspora to speak freely without fear or intimidation, citing a lack of freedom of expression inside the country.
Another leading opposition member who preferred anonymity also said they demand adequate representation in the National Elections Commission to ensure proper management and preparation of elections during the transitional period.
“There are some international donors in Juba who are ready to support and fund the Tumaini Initiative, but they want to see a transparent process and commitment to real peace, inclusivity and free and fair elections in South Sudan after the end of the transitional period,” one of the sources said.
Draft peace agreement
A draft peace agreement recently leaked by Radio Tamazuj creates a national leadership council to provide leadership and guidance to the Joint Defense Board, the National Constitution Review Commission, the National Elections Commission, the Political Parties Council, and other bodies with relevant mandates to the implementation of the Tumaini Framework.
The draft agreement maintains the current structure with the president and expanded presidency to accommodate additional members from opposition groups signatories to the Tumaini Initiative to be part of the leadership council.
In the constitution-making process, the document says the parties agreed to revitalize, structure, and reconstitute the National Constitutional Review Commission (NCRC) to expand membership and provide an all-inclusive Commission. They also agreed on enhancing inclusivity in the structures and processes of the constitution-making.
The 25-page document provides details of an inclusive governance structure and responsibility sharing among the government, opposition groups, and other stakeholders, covering areas such as executive roles, legislature, security, constitutional processes, and elections management.
Other governance and responsibility-sharing areas agreed on include justice sector reforms, ceasefires, security arrangements, and reforms. The document talks of the reconstitution of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) Board, which shall consist of the representatives of the armed opposition groups, to formulate and implement a comprehensive security sector reform that provides for creating a unified army and reconstituting the other organized forces.
The parties and stakeholders agreed to form a Regional High-Level Panel of Heads of State and Government, which will consist of heads of state and government from the region and whose responsibilities and roles will be to monitor and oversee the agreement in liaison with the National Leadership Council.
According to the draft agreement, the parties and stakeholders agreed to manage resources transparently and to manage all revenues and public resources effectively.
The opposition groups negotiating with the transitional government are a faction of the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (SSOMA) of Gen. Paul Malong and Pagan Amum, the South Sudan United National Alliance (SSUNA) led by Gen. Stephen Buoy Rolnyang, and the National Salvation Front-Revolutionary Command led by Gen. Mario Loku Thomas. Other stakeholders are the civil society, academia, and faith-based groups.
Gen. Thomas Cirillo, a key armed opposition leader, is not part of the ongoing talks.
Peace negotiations between the South Sudan government and the holdout groups were launched in Kenya on May 9.
The mediation is led by former Kenya army commander Lazarus Sumbeiywo, who also mediated the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 which gave Southern Sudan autonomy and later led to a referendum for independence in 2011.
In December 2023, South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir requested his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto to take over the mediation from the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome, complaining that the talks had taken long in Rome’s hands without resolution.