A diplomatic row has erupted between South Sudan and Kenyan special envoy Raila Odinga, following his recent failed mediation mission in Juba, where he sought to see Riek Machar a vice president in the war tone country.
According to reports, South Sudan’s government, via President Salva Kiir’s Press Secretary David Amuor Majur, Raila Odinga has been accused of fabricating claims about his mission, when he claimed that President Kiir sent him to see Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to seek his permission.
Mr Odinga, appointed by Kenyan President William Ruto to mediate South Sudan’s escalating political crisis, alleged that President Kiir directed him to consult Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni before meeting detained Vice President Riek Machar.
Juba has vehemently denied this, branding Odinga’s statements as a “misrepresentation of diplomatic norms” and asserting that his Uganda trip was pre-arranged, not a directive from Kiir.
“President Kiir is not an envoy; he is a head of state. His Excellency did not instruct Raila Odinga to meet President Museveni,” David Majur, Presidential Spokesperson.
Kiir’s office via spokesman says Raila wasn’t sent to President Museveni but was denied access to Machar until leaders are briefed
Odinga adds more salt to injury
The controversy stems from Odinga’s visit to Juba on March 28, where he sought to de-escalate tensions after Machar’s house arrest, linked to alleged rebellion attempts amid clashes tied to the ethnic Nuer White Army militia. Odinga reported being denied access to Machar and claimed Kiir rerouted him to Mr Museveni, whom he briefed in Entebbe.
South Sudan counters that Machar and his wife, Interior Minister Angelina Teny, are not under arrest, contradicting Odinga’s narrative. Information Minister Michael Makuei further accused Machar of stirring unrest, escalating the stakes.
This spat threatens to undermine Odinga’s mediation role and the fragile 2018 peace deal between Kiir and Machar, which ended a brutal civil war. Regional leaders, including Uganda’s Museveni and Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed, have been looped in, with the African Union and UN backing diplomatic efforts to avert another conflict. Odinga plans to brief the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), but Juba’s rebuttal casts doubt on his credibility. As South Sudan teeters on the brink, this clash highlights the challenges of navigating its volatile politics and the delicate balance of regional diplomacy.
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