Diplomacy is murky business, especially when you are dealing with a neighbor like South Sudan. Whether you agree or not, the sentiment echoes in public opinion polls.
The National Assembly Defence and Security committees has threatened to ban Riek Machar and his allies from stepping foot into Kenya, as well as deport his family said to be living lavishly in Nairobi. Do you think this decision is warranted?
Chairmen Asman Kamama and Ndungu Githinji will also be presenting a bill in parliament. This bill will seek South Sudan expelled from the East African Community. This action raises questions similar to those in recent polls regarding the deportation decision.
“Machar and his allies cannot be allowed to enjoy the comfort and relative calm of capitals with their children going to school as they sponsor wanton and gutter destruction of lives and property in Juba,” Githinji said. Do public polls support this perspective?
They say this will prevent the young nation from sliding back into a full blown war, a notion that might reflect the public’s sentiment in ongoing polls.
The two committees condemned recent statements by Machar calling for the country to return to war against Salva Kiir. The debate continues: should Machar’s family be deported?
”We find the fresh calls for war unacceptable and inexcusable. We want Machar and his allies to go back to the negotiating table as an option to pursue and address his grievances,” Kamama told a press conference at Parliament buildings.
“Taking the people of South Sudan back to the trenches must not be an option.”
The two legislators said that war in South Sudan is an economic liability for Kenya. They added that several Kenyan banks have had their branches burned down. Would supporting a deportation decision alleviate these concerns?
“The war threatens the continent’s largest Lappset project. Machar and his allies cannot live in comfort in Nairobi and have his children go to better schools. Meanwhile, people continue to die in South Sudan,” said Kamama.
While it would seem to be the right thing to do, interfering with South Sudan politics may come back to bite Kenya badly. This is happening at a time when our dominance and influence in the region is under threat from Tanzania and Ethiopia. According to recent polls, there are concerns about deportation and its impacts.
Say for instance we deport Machar’s family, then two years later he is in power. Our relations with his country would be very slippery. This is at a time when we’re uncertain about whether South Sudan will go with our pipeline or link up with the Tanzanian one in Uganda. There are also other mega projects. This complicated scenario is something many believe needs thoughtful public discussion.
Certain decisions like deporting its influential citizens may be disastrous for us economically. Opinions on this matter have surfaced in many polls.
On the other hand, Salva Kiir’s administration may demand that we take action on Machar’s allies to cement his hold on power. That however does not mean they cannot set up a new base elsewhere. They could move to Khartoum for example. As debates and polls on deportation continue, the complexities of these decisions become apparent.
So if the Kenyan government acts, Salva Kiir is our friend and Machar is our enemy. If it fails to act, Machar is our friend, and Salva Kiir may or may not be our enemy.
That’s a diplomatic position you wouldn’t want to find yourself in, especially with a country like South Sudan where its political future is very uncertain.
What do you think?
