Church mediation ongoing to reunite divided opposition coalition

 

South Sudan’s Council of Churches is mediating between two factions of the Opposition Alliance (SSOA) in the capital Juba, a religious leader said.

The alliance which is a signatory of the September 2018 peace deal is divided over leadership. In November 2018, some members of the coalition supported the election of General Peter Gatdet for the chairmanship of the group but the interim leader Gabriel Changson refused to accept the result of the vote.

Arkangelo Wani Lemi, bishop of the African Inland Church, told Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday that the council held a series of meetings with factions of the alliance to resolve their problems. 

“On 2 and 3 of March, we held meetings with SSOA factions and the aim of the meetings was that the Council of Churches saw the importance of unity so that they can move together into the implementation of the agreement as a united organization,” he said.

Wani, who is a member of the South Sudan Council of Churches, said unity between members of the opposition coalition will enhance the implementation of the 2018 peace deal, which was designed to end the nation's five-year civil war.

The religious leader, who facilitates the mediation process, hoped the steps taken so far will bring about a solution to problems facing the opposition alliance. He explained that the coalition splintered following a dispute over leadership and relationship issues.

“On 31 March, we convened a meeting again and they went through the issues that divide them. After long deliberations, we agreed on co-chairmanship of SSOA, so now Changson will work with Gatdet as co-chair. What we have not agreed upon is the mechanism on how to operationalize the co-chairmanship, so it is yet to be worked on,” he said.

He said that they will hold another meeting on April 6 with the two factions to make sure the leadership issue is operationalized. “We are hopeful that this process will yield results and SSOA will be a united organization,” he said.

Wani pointed out that the ongoing reunification process has nothing to do with the vice president position allocated to the alliance in accordance with the revitalized peace agreement.

“They will have to sit down and come up with criteria for the allocation of positions among their members,” he said.

On his part, Joseph Bangasi Bakasoro, a member of the faction led by Gabriel Changson confirmed the council is trying to mediate between the two groups.

Bakasoro, who leads the opposition group South Sudan National Movement for Change (SSNMC), said church leaders would like to see the opposition coalition reunite.

He pointed out that the two factions endeavor to heal their own rifts. “We will have another meeting to discuss the reunification process on Saturday,” he said.

“We agreed during the recent meeting to reunite because it is very important for the people of South Sudan. But modalities of the reunification process are yet to be finalized,” he added.

Meanwhile the faction led by General Peter Gatdet confirmed South Sudan Council of Churches is mediating to bring together the two factions of the alliance.

“South Sudan Council of Churches came up with the initiative to reunite the two factions of the opposition alliance, and the mediation process is going on well,” said Mahjoub Biel, the political secretary of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), a group backing Gatdet’s faction.

Under pressure from the international community, South Sudan government and several opposition factions signed a peace deal in September last year to end the conflict.

The agreement provides for a new transitional government to rule for three years, followed by a general election.