Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has revealed that he was denied access to talk to South Sudan First Vice President Riek Machar, who is under house arrest.
Speaking on Saturday, March 29, Raila said South Sudan President Salva Kiir told him to go to Uganda instead and meet with President Yoweri Museveni.
“I asked to be allowed to talk to Machar, but they could not allow me to see him, and they recommended that I meet with President Museveni. From Juba, I went to Entebbe and had a meeting with Museveni and reported to him what I had found in South Sudan, and after a lengthy discussion, he said he was going to talk to President Kiir. We agreed that I would go back to Juba later,” said Raila.
He also noted that President Kiir informed him that Machar was placed under detention following the killing of a general and ten other people in the town of Nasir, in the Upper Nile.
“I had a lengthy discussion with President Kiir, who told me that there was a killing of a general and over ten other people in the town of Nassir in the upper Nile, and this is what they are investigating. Because of this, he said that Vice President Riek Machar had been put under house arrest as they continue with their investigations,” Raila stated.
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Further, the ODM leader said the situation in South Sudan is a work in Progress and requires international attention before it escalates.
Raila also said he would brief President Ruto, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti.
Machar was on Wednesday, March 26, placed under house arrest in Juba by government forces loyal to President Kiir.
The arrest followed a raid on his residence by a convoy of heavily armed vehicles, during which his bodyguards were disarmed, and an arrest warrant was delivered on unclear charges.
Machar and President Salva Kiir have not been on good terms ever since their fallout in 2013.
On Thursday, March 27, Ruto announced that he had initiated diplomatic efforts to address the arrest and detention of Machar.
