Kenya’s Special Envoy to South Sudan, Raila Odinga, has broken his silence after being denied access to South Sudan’s First Vice President, Riek Machar, who remains under house arrest. Machar’s detention follows a deadly attack in the Upper Nile region on March 7, where General Majur Dak and ten others were killed while trying to board a UN helicopter.
Odinga traveled to Juba for discussions with President Salva Kiir but was not permitted to meet with Machar. After his six-hour visit, he proceeded to Uganda to brief President Yoweri Museveni on the situation. Odinga later stated that he would only return to Juba if granted direct access to Machar.
The South Sudanese government justified Machar’s house arrest as part of an ongoing investigation into the attack. Although no direct link has been established, authorities suspect some of his supporters, including armed groups, may have been involved.
Machar’s role as First Vice President stems from a fragile 2018 peace deal designed to end years of civil war. He was reinstated in 2020 under a power-sharing agreement with Kiir, but tensions between the two leaders persist, threatening to destabilize the truce.
Odinga, recently appointed as Kenya’s envoy to South Sudan by President William Ruto, intends to brief regional leaders, including Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Djibouti’s President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh. He also called for international intervention, welcoming UN involvement in addressing the crisis.
Machar’s detention, along with his wife, Interior Minister Angela Teny, has drawn global condemnation, with the United States among those demanding his immediate release. As the situation unfolds, Odinga remains hopeful that investigations will be resolved swiftly to prevent further instability in the conflict-ridden nation.
