{{The Vice President of South Sudan has had his Powers chopped in a decree signed by President Salva Kiir on Monday.}}
According to a Decree broadcast on state TV vice-president Riek Machar powers are restricted as according to article 105” of the country’s transitional constitution.
Article 105 of the transitional Constitution of South Sudan gives the vice-president ceremonial powers to act for the president in the event that the head of state is out of the country in order to perform any functions or duties conferred upon the president.
Earlier today, Kiir also issued a decree dissolving the national reconciliation committee and cancelling the entire process which was overseen by Machar.
The process was initially planned to start on 18 April but the convention was pushed back to June on the grounds that more time was needed to prepare for it.
Sources claim the postponement was due to political differences over the agenda and the timing of the process.
Machar, a Dok Nuer from the key oil producing Unity state, is a controversial figure for many in South Sudan, but commands much loyalty among the Nuer, who make up much of the new nation’s army.
During Sudan’s 1983-2005 civil war that led to a peace deal paving the way for a referendum on South Sudan’s independence, Machar fought on both sides of the conflict.
{{Dinka vs Nuer}}
His Nuer faction split the South’s then-rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) to side with Khartoum, battling troops commanded by Kiir from the mainly Dinka people. His troops are accused of a brutal massacre in the ethnic Dinka town of Bor in 1991.
He later switched sides again, and was instrumental in bringing key militia forces back to the SPLA, but has long been distrusted by the majority Dinka people, who hold key military and government positions.
South Sudan is riven by ethnic tensions, with the military struggling to control rebellions and mend a society torn apart by one of Africa’s longest-running wars, in which Khartoum pitted different southern militia forces against one another.
The presidential order has also suspended efforts led by Machar for “national reconciliation” aimed to bring together the war-weary nation, but which were seen by some as a means to boost his political standing.
Machar is seen as the top Nuer leader, especially after the death last August of the army’s deputy commander Paulino Matip, a former Nuer rebel warlord, who also fought on both sides of the conflict.
Agencies
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