JUBA – The SPLM-IO Kitgwang faction, a key armed opposition group in South Sudan, said it was not invited to the ongoing peace negotiations in Nairobi between the government and non-signatories to the
revitalized peace agreement.
Jordan Manpiny, head of the group’s foreign relations committee, told Sudans Post on Friday that their exclusion could have negative consequences.
“We are not invited, and therefore we are not participating. I don’t know why (they didn’t invite us),” Manpiny said.
“This will have negative repercussions because we are the largest armed opposition in South Sudan and those participating, to me, are only politicians and they are not participating in the talks militarily,” he added.
Eight political-military groups are currently participating in the talks, including the Real-SPLM led by Pagan Amum, the SSPM led by Stephen Buay Rolnyang, and the SSUF led by Paul Malong.
Manpiny questioned the impact of the current participants, arguing that SPLA-IO Kitgwang and the National Salvation Front (NAS) are more militarily significant and could have a greater influence on the country’s security and political situation. NAS is also not participating in the talks.
“The two groups one would think of are (SPLA-IO Kitgwang) and National Salvation Front and NAS is not participating,” Manpiny said.
“This brings the question on the goal of the mediation, and one would wonder if they aim to bring in the politicians making noise outside so that there would be one political system or this means peace is attained in South Sudan,” he added.
Other key opposition groups not participating include NAS led by General Thomas Cirilo and the National Democratic Movement Patriotic Front (NDM-FP) led by Emmanuel Ajawin.
NAS and NDM-FP declined invitations, citing concerns about the failure of previous peace talks in Rome.
Manpiny said his group is in contact with NAS but does not share their reasons for rejecting the invitation because his group was not part of the Rome peace initiative.
“We are in contact with the group of Thomas Cirilo, but we don’t share the same grievances they raised when they declined the agreement,” he said.
“To them, the Nairobi negotiation is not irrelevant to them. They were part of the Rome talks and they have their own reasons as to why they cannot participate now and we were not part of the Rome talks and we are not invited to this (Nairobi) talks,” he added.
Manpiny said his group has not been invited and wouldn’t ask for one, but if invited, their leadership would decide on participation.
The exclusion of some opposition groups from the Kenyan mediation process has gained traction. Stephen Buay, the leader of the SSPM to the selective invitations during an interview with Sudans Post.
He argued that true and lasting peace requires addressing the root causes of the conflict and said this can only be achieved by including all non-signatories to the 2018 peace agreement, including the SPLM-IO Kitgwang faction led by General Simon Gatwech Dual.
“For conflicts to be avoided beyond any peace agreement with the government, the Kenyan mediation must include all the opposition groups including the SPLM-IO Kitgwang faction led by General Simon Gatwech Dual and others immediately,” Buay said.
He emphasized the urgency of inviting these groups, warning that their exclusion would render the entire mediation a waste of time and resources. Buay specifically mentioned Gatwech, Buay Kangdong, and Chuol Geake as key figures who should be included in the talks.
“Gatwech is not invited and people like Buay Kangdong and Chuol Geake are not also invited. The mediators need to invite these groups or else this process will purely be a waste of time and resources by the government of Kenya,” he stressed.
SPLM-IO Kitgwang is a main armed opposition faction that broke away from the mainstream SPLM-IO led by Riek Machar in 2021. It has since been engaged in sporadic clashes with government forces in northern parts of South Sudan, particularly Upper Nile state.
