This archive report was first published on 12 October 2019.
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has given strong indications that he will form a government on November 12, with or without the opposition leader Dr Riek Machar, sparking fears of a return to civil war.
According to sources, the two leaders have a month to form a transitional government, but their distrust of each other since the July 2016 war broke out in J1—the presidential residence—that forced Dr Machar to flee to the DR Congo on foot.
On October 7, SPLM-IO deputy spokesman, Manawa Peter Gatkuoth, stated that the party will not join the transitional government until the security arrangements are fulfilled and the number of administrative units in the country agreed upon.
The Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) is supposed to bring together the signatories of the September 2018 revitalised agreement, but an earlier date of May 12, 2019, was not met due to two sticking points.
Former Secretary-General, Pagan Amum, who leads a faction of Former Detainees and currently lives in exile in the US, warned that President Kiir unilaterally forming a government would mean the country returns to civil war.
“No progress has been on the outstanding issues at all. The government is not interested in peace as that would bring accountability for crimes it committed or transparency to stop its looting. The government focus is on formation of government without reforms and change to the status quo,” said Mr Amum.
The UN Security Council has appealed to the rival parties to resolve pending issues to allow for the formation of a unity government as originally planned.
President Kiir in 2015 unilaterally created 32 states contrary to the agreement of the same year that retained the initial 10 states, but collapsed in July 2016.
When President Kiir and Dr Machar held a face-to-face meeting in Juba in September, they could not reach a consensus on the number of states and agreed to form committee to look into the final report of the Independent Boundary Commission, and come up with findings suitable for both parties and the people of South Sudan.
