Armed youth in show of weaponry. | Courtesy

The Governance Cluster has tabled a draft bill to disarm South Sudanese civilians before the National Council of Ministers for further deliberation.

The Disarmament Bill was previously approved and submitted to President Salva Kiir to be signed into law, in 2020.

But Deputy Cabinet Minister Garang Thon said the draft bill was later sent back to the National Legislative Assembly.

It’s not clear what was wrong in the bill.

Thon said the bill was then resubmitted to the Governance Cluster headed by First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar for further amendments.

After the readjustments, the bill is now sent to the Council of Ministers for deliberation, after which it will be retaken to the national legislature for final endorsement.

“The Minister of Justice Hon. Madol Arol presented a third memo on disarmament of the Civil Population Bill 2023,” Thon said.

“It has now been resubmitted to the governance cluster so that it may go to the Council of Minister for the approval and goes also to the Transitional National Legislative Assembly for the final endorsement.”

South Sudan is reportedly flooded with illegal guns in the hands of civilians after decades of civil war of independence from Sudan.

Experts indicate that the flow of weapons from the organized forces has proved problematic despite disarmament campaigns as collected weapons often trickle back into the communities.