The main parties to the revitalized peace agreement – SPLM and SPLM-IO – have made conflicting over the disputes surrounding the dismissal of Angelina Teny as defense minister.
Citing the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, UNMISS Chief Nicholas Haysom told the UN Security Council that the peace principals – President Salva Kiir and Dr Riek Machar – had resolved the mater.
When contacted for confirmation, the press secretary in the office of Dr Machar refuted the IGAD communique, terming it a false statement from the regional body.
“We don’t know where the IGAD got this false information. We would like to confirm that the deadlock is still and it has not been resolved as we speak. The deadlock remained as it is and our position of the SPLM-IO political bureau remains and we would like to reiterate that position,” Puok Both told TRC on Thursday.
But the government spokesperson, Michael Makuei, told reporters in Juba on Friday that the leadership had resolved the dispute.
“The parties sat and they agreed [to resolved the deadlock]. If at all there is anybody who is saying that it’s not true, then they should come to us and say what we said last time is not in place,” Makuei said. “So far, we have not received any official objection from what was said.”
Makuei did not give the details when did the principals resolved the disputes within the past few days but said the deadlock was broken and the main opposition party is expected to take over the ministry of interior and the deputy minister of defense.
In March 2023, Kiir relieved Angelina Teny as defense minister through a republican decree and swapped the ministries of defense and interior – a move the SPLM-IO said it was unilateral and a violation of the peace agreement.
Since then, the SPLM-IO political bureau has been calling on the president to revoke the decree and reinstate Angelina, who is also wife to Dr Machar. All the calls went unattended to and the president appointed a new minister of defense.
