This past Wednesday, March 26, 2025, South Sudan’s defense minister, Gen. Chol Thon Balok, Chief of

Dr Riek Machar

General Staff of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), General Paul Nang Majok, and Gen. Charles Chiec Mayor; the Director General of the Internal Security Bureau of the National Security Service (NSS); had forcefully intruded into Dr. Riek Machar’s residence with 20 heavily armed vehicles in order to deliver an arrest warrant to him under unspecified charges.

After their arrival, the intruders began to disarm Dr. Riek’s bodyguards, took them to an undisclosed location and immediately intimidated Dr. Riek, urging him to sign two letters with the content to denounce his leadership positions from being the Commander-in-Chief of the SPLA-IO forces and First Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan government. They went as far as telling him, they will take him and his wife to prison where they will face severe consequences of mall-treatment or even get killed, before they softened their tone and offered him a guarantee of VIP protection and other retirement services he could need to live as an ordinary citizen.

Unequivocally, Dr. Riek told them point-blank that he refused to sign the letters or give up his leadership positions and told them to go to Kiir to fire him if Kiir thinks he might have the powers to do so. Dr. Riek had also refused to be forcefully moved out from his residence. After the exchange, the three top South Sudan government military commanders had opted to put Dr. Riek Machar’ under house arrest alongside his wife Angelina Jany Teny, who is also the country’s interior minister.

In reality, Dr. Machar’s detention came after many concerning peace violations taken by the Salva Kiir government. Below, this writer will list some of these peace violations that trigger the arrest of Dr. Riek’Machar and many of his political allies around the country.

Initially, the arrest of Dr. Riek Machar on Wednesday March 26, 2025, was not the first violation of 2018 (R-ARCSS). Salva Kiir has not been willing to implement the peace he signed. Since the signing of the ARCSS, there have been calls from both regional and international communities regarding the slow movement of the peace deal implementation. Not only was there slow movement or lack of progress in ARCSS implementation, there were also violations of some provisions in the agreement

One of the most frustrating phenomena in South Sudan’s conflict history has been the unwillingness of Salva Kiir to implement the peace he signed. Oftentimes, Kiir wants to implement the peace partially, selectively and lackadaisical, for obvious political reasons known only to him. This is a potential obstacle which President Salva Kiir squarely bears blaming for. Salva Kiir is not a truthful leader.

He says one thing while doing the opposite under the table. On numerous occasions, he stated “he will not take the country back to war, while behind the door he is ordering troop and Ugandan soldiers to come to fight Nuer society.

This is a politics of deception. The man is simply using the same deceptive techniques he had used in 2015-2016 as a new political fishing-tactic in the hope that he would be able to mislead his adversaries which has now turned out to be true. He always wants to implement the deal without changing anything.

Instead of working to implement the deal, Salva Kiir government was plotting to influence militias and bought them with money and positions from SPLM/A-IO forces across the country. For example, in the Unity state, Kaljak and Mirmir areas. The government encouraged Maj. Gen. Tito Biel Wie commanded Division 4 in sector two to fight with his Deputy Maj. Gen. John Turuk Kor who was still supporting SPLM/A-IO under Dr. Riek Machar.

Similarly, the government encouraged Maj. Gen Ochan Puot and Maj Gen. James Kor Chuol Giet started fighting in Maiwut and Longechuk counties which led to the capture of Jekou on March 19-20′, 2022. On Tuesday April 12, 2022, President Salva Kiir’s allied Militia forces armed with tanks and heavy artillery clashed with SPLA-IO forces again.

The army from Pagak and Maiwut under the command of Major General James Ochan Puot Buop said they had been able to thwart all attempts by opposition forces as they tried to retake Jekow and Biyien from the government’s forces. On Friday April 15, 2022, fighting broke out in Liengaji in Maban. All these incidences came as the result of the Salva Kiir bribery tactic.

However, this time around, he had decided to null and abrogate the peace without repair. He began the nullification of the peace on February 10, when he issued a series of decrees unilaterally removing several senior government officials, including Alfred Futuyo, the governor of Western Equatoria State.

Futuyo is a member of the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In-Opposition (SPLM-IO), led by First Vice President Riek Machar. Shortly after his removal, Futuyo fled Yambio, the capital of Western Equatoria State, following an exchange of gunfire near his residence. The incident reportedly involved elements linked to the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF).

A week later, Salva ordered SSPDF soldiers to move to Nasir in order to disarm white army and a fighting occurred. The fighting between SSPDF and the White Army in Nasir is not new. It started when civil war broke out in South Sudan in 2013 and SSPDF has ever since made it a habit to bomb civilians on and off; even if civilians are fishing in lakes. The recent fighting that happened in Nasir came as the result of the government plan of disarmament. This is similar to the 2006 disarmament plan when the then Southern Sudan government planned to disarm the Nuer White Army.

In the current disarmament mission, the government uses Gen. Koang Chuol Ranley and Gen. Johnson Olony who they bribed from SPLM/A-IO after the government decided to refuse to implement the 2018 peace agreement. When the white army heard the news about the mobilization of the Agwelek forces of Olony and the Dinka Apandang militias, Abuchuk, they warned both commanders to refrain from bringing the government militia to Nasir and advised them to bring the unified forces instead.

Before taking time to allow dialogues, the government began to bomb white army positions in Ulang and Nasir counties. To make the situation worse, the SSPDF forces in Nasir broke the hell loose when they also started bombing white army near Nasir. After skirmishes between the white army and the SSPDF which resulted in Nasir capture by white army.

The South Sudan government became furious and that wrath had been turned into the arrest of the SPLM/A-IO) military commanders and officials in Juba.

The government started by arresting the Deputy Army Chief General Gabriel Duop Lam, Generals Koang Gatkuoth Kerjiok, Gen.Wesley Welebe,; Ashhab Khamis Fahal. Gen. among others. Also the government detained the Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chuol together with Biluny Puk, Koang Puk, Camiilo Gatmach, Nelson Malou, Kun Tut, Buay Thechuong and Peter Mayong.

On the same Wednesday, South Sudanese soldiers surrounded Vice President Riek Machar’s home. Then, on Thursday March 6, National Peacebuilding Minister Stephen Par Kuol was arrested by National Security.

While the government was arresting opposition officials, it also increased a demand for a brutal military campaign led by President Salva Kiir’s and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. A few days before they bombed Nasir and Longechuk counties a rhetoric of war has been expressed.

On March 16, 2025, senior government officials like Defense Minister Gen. Chol Thon Balok and Chief of Defense Forces Gen. Paul Nang Majok publicly threatened to carry out a revenge campaign in Nasir, along with other areas they deemed as a threat to the regime’s existence. These officials also declared that they would prevent any opposing political or military figures, especially those from the SPLM-IO, from leaving the capital, Juba.

The violence, backed by Uganda’s military prompted Dr. Riek Machar’ to write. On Tuesday, March 25,; Dr.Riek Machar wrote a letter and accused Uganda of violating a United Nations arms embargo by entering the country with armoured and air force units, and conducting airstrikes against the white army.

He addressed his letter to the U.N., African Union and the IGAD regional bloc, Machar said Uganda’s military intervention in South Sudan had violated the 2018 peace agreement which ended South Sudan’s five-year civil war.

Momentarily, the crackdown of the SPLM/A-IO) members in Juba is ongoing. The action indicates that, R-ARCSS had been thrown into the dust bins. As the arrest has now included, Dr. Riek Machar’, there is nothing left as far as abrogation of the R-ARCSS is concerned.

As the situation is worsening daily, an urgent action that might quell the situation is needed without delay .One possible approach to quell falling back to all out war would be, African Union, together with East African IGAD in addition to the United Nations, United States of America and the entire international community , propose a middle ground strategy and advise Salva Kiir to remorse from peace violation activities.

In conclusion, the arrest of Dr. Riek Machar in Juba on Wednesday March 26, 2025, indicates that 2018 (R-ARCSS) has been abrogated and Nullified beyond repair.

Salva Kiir is a complicated human being to deal with. He preaches South Sudan unity during the day and preaches tribal supremacy at night. He is the reason South Sudan is burning. What is needed right now is the action from (R-ARCSS) grantors.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD), the African Union (AU), and the international community to demand the release of Dr. Riek Machar so that he can be located in a third party country where his safety would be a grantee. The UN must not also allow Ugandan dictators to bomb civilians indiscriminately.

Respectively.

Lul Gatkuoth Gatluak

The author is a political commentator. He can be reached at lulgatluak09@gmail.com