Adwok Nyaba says South Sudan peace deal failing because leaders ‘want to die in power’

JUBA — Veteran South Sudanese politician Peter Adwok Nyaba has warned that the country’s revitalized peace agreement is failing because political leaders are determined to “die in power” and fear accountability for ongoing crises.

In an interview with podcaster and journalist Kafuki Jada last week, Nyaba said pushing for national elections while military factions continue to clash across the country will only exacerbate South Sudan’s instability.

“In this situation of war where we have not even addressed the issue of peace and how you do elections, you are going to have problems more,” Nyaba said.

He dismissed the feasibility of holding a nationwide vote, pointing to active, localized conflicts outside the capital.

“Now while people are fighting in Jonglei, in Western Equatoria, in Eastern Equatoria, can you do elections?” he asked. “You cannot do it in Juba while the rest of the country is fighting.”

South Sudan’s 2018 revitalized peace agreement mandates a transitional period culminating in democratic elections and a peaceful transfer of power. However, Nyaba stated that most provisions of the pact remain unimplemented.

He attributed this stalled transition to a deliberate strategy by the political elite to maintain control over the state and its wealth.

“It’s about power. People are fighting over power. It’s a struggle for power and control of the state and its resources,” Nyaba said.

The former minister argued that leaders are actively avoiding the implementation of the peace deal to prevent a democratic transition that would strip them of their authority and expose them to legal or political consequences.

“If somebody wants to hold the power alone, and to be there forever, and doesn’t want any change, he wants to die in power, then he will not implement the agreement,” Nyaba said. “Because there is fear of accountability. I don’t want to be accountable for the wrong things which happen.”

Nyaba urged the country’s leadership to abandon internal power struggles and address the severe humanitarian conditions facing millions of citizens.

“The leaders should look at this if they really love this country, and think that they are there for the people,” he said, citing widespread hunger, an education crisis, and failing healthcare.

“Look at the problems of hunger, that there are people who sleep on an empty stomach. There are children who are not going to school. There are people dying because they cannot get the medicines they need,” Nyaba added. “These are the real problems.”