First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar. August 4, 2022. (PPU/Facebook).

The First Vice President has opened up about the longstanding speculations that his movement has been restricted since his arrival from Khartoum in 2019.

Speaking during the graduation of more than 20,000 unified forces on Tuesday, Dr. Riek Machar said he has been marooned and stuck in the capital Juba.

Machar expressed gratitude to those who endured the delayed graduation of unified forces, saying South Sudanese refugees and even himself had waited for it for too long.

“This is the day that our people have been waiting for, millions in the countryside, others in the Protection of Civilians Sites [PoCs], millions of refugees, and of course, myself who have been marooned and stuck in Juba,” he said during the graduation of forces.

First Vice President Machar also said he hopes that with the graduation of the first batch of Necessary Unified Forces, he can travel within and outside the country.

Since his return to Juba in 2019, Dr. Riek Machar had only traveled outside the country once, following an invitation to the Vatican, Italy by Pope Francis in 2020.

That year, senior SPLA-IO generals complained about Dr. Machar’s inability to visit troops at the cantonment sites to update them on the 2018 peace deal, alleging his movements were being restricted.

Some activists and members of the public also wondered why Dr. Machar was confined to his office in Juba all this while.

In February 2021, the Presidency said in a meeting convened by President Salva Kiir, that Machar was given green light to visit his troops to disseminate the implementation of the peace accord.

Meanwhile, speaking during the graduation of forces event, the first vice president said the security arrangement is the backbone of the agreement.

“We have all been looking forward to this graduation to happen. The transitional security arrangements are the backbone of this agreement, without it, the peace will not hold.”

In April 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia issued a verbal note indicating that IGAD had not put any restriction on Machar’s travel to any country of his choice.