By William Madouk
Leader of a splinter, South Sudan United Front/Army-Nairobi Declaration outfit, Gen. Dickson Gatluak, has arrived in Juba to join the peace wagon.
The delegation touched down at Juba International Airport at around 9 a.m. on Monday and was warmly welcomed by SPLM Secretary for External Affairs, Bol Makueng.
SSUF/A-ND military spokesman Col. Philip Deng Kuol said that his boss’ return home is an answer to President Salva Kiir’s amnesty, granted to holdout groups to lay down guns and join the peace process.
“It’s our pleasure to be back home again, and we really applaud the warm reception by government officials upon arrival of our team,” Koul told No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper.
“SSUF/A, as a member of the holdout groups, has taken this bold decision of coming to Juba to consolidate the call for home-grown initiative, pursuant to the SSUF/A Nairobi Declaration,” he added.
Paul Malong Awan’s ex-ally, now turned foe, led a 15-member delegation including political and military wings and will likely hold talks with the president and top government officials.
“I believe we will meet with different government officials, including the head of state, to consolidate and build trust and confidence. We expect a buyable result from the meeting,” he noted.
The team is expected to spend six days in the capital before returning to their headquarters in Upper Nile State.
“Our home return is also part of President Kiir’s amnesty, which he granted to the holdout groups to lay down their arms and join the peace process,” Col. Koul stressed.
General Dickson is yet another top renegade leader to join President Salva Kiir in Juba, after Gen. Johnson Olony, the commander of Agwelek forces.
Col. Kuol earlier said that the forces of SSUF/A-ND were being trained in cantonment sites in readiness for integration into the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) after one year of completing the training.
In January last year, a group of dissident generals and senior members of SSUF/A, dubbed the ‘Nairobi Declaration,” ousted Paul Malong Awan, citing readiness for a peace talk with Kiir’s administration.
However, Gen. Awan kicked out the renegade generals and accused them of ‘betrayal and conspiracy to weaken the party. Yet Gen. Gatluak defied the order, stating he could not be dismissed.
That led Awan to suffer severely as his own movement, SSUF/A, split into two factions, with a new breakaway dubbed SSUFA-Nairobi led by Gen. Dickson Gatluak.