“The Release of South Sudan’s Vice President from Prison places him on fast track to state house!”

South Sudanese Member of Parliament James Kok Ruei described the release of First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar as a “historical inevitability,” noting that the international community is closely monitoring political developments in South Sudan.  

This came during a speech delivered by Kok at a Sunday mass in Juba, where he compared Machar’s detention to the struggle of the late South African leader Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison before becoming his country’s president.

He affirmed that “Machar’s fate will be similar, and he will be released sooner or later, regardless of the will of his opponents.”  

Kok also attacked what he described as the “dangerous ethnic classification” of Nuer areas as “hostile,” considering this a blatant violation of national unity principles.

He added, “A logic that divides citizens based on ethnic affiliation cannot be accepted. Either we are partners in the nation or enemies, with no middle ground.”  

He then shifted to criticizing the government structure, questioning the “monopoly of power by one group in a country made up of 64 tribes,” and called for a revision of the political discourse that “dresses the political conflict in ethnic clothing.”

He stressed that the current crisis is “a conflict between the government and the opposition led by Machar, not an ethnic war as promoted.”  

He did not miss condemning the aerial military operations targeting opposition sites, warning of civilian casualties, and describing them as a “tragic repetition of the violations of the former Khartoum government.”

He concluded his speech by hinting at shifting power balances, saying, “Every dominant system meets its end, even the forces that seem unchallengeable today.”