Dr. Riek Machar, First Vice President of the republic of South Sudan - Courtesy

South Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO) has said its leader and First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny is not free to move and has been denied chances to seek medical treatment outside the country.

The party’s deputy chairperson, Oyet Nathaniel Pierino criticized what he termed as an “unfair” treatment of Machar, who, according to him, has not even been permitted to travel outside of the capital Juba.

He attested that the first vice president has also been denied trips in and out of the country on several occasions, under unclear circumstances.

Oyet, who is also the transitional parliament’s First Deputy Speaker, further revealed that Machar has been left with no choice but to turn to Juba doctors for treatment.

“Our chairman is not free to move. He has never left Juba since he came in 2020. He has never left Juba and has not visited any state, he has not even gone for treatment outside,” Oyet told the press.

“There is no fairness. He wanted to go to Wau for a conference organized by the states, but he was denied permission to go and participate.”

“He wanted to go to West Africa at the invitation of one of the governments, but he was denied. He was also invited to the current UN General Assembly. He was also denied permission.”

Oyet could not state who is responsible for the restriction of the movements of his boss, who is technically the second most powerful man in the country.

In a press conference on Monday, the lawmaker said they previously opted to keep the issue out of the public eye, and without stating why, he said: “today is the time to talk about it.”

“It is not because we have not been asking for it. We have been asking for it, only that we don’t talk about it in the media. But I think today is the time to talk about it – that he is not free.”

“He is sick, and he treats himself here in Juba. So, this is the circumstance under which we operate, and under this way, South Sudan is still a long way to see democracy unless we implement the peace agreement in letter and spirit.”

Apparently, Machar has never traveled out of Juba since the formation of the transitional government in February 2020 – leaving unanswered questions and speculations about possible restrictions of his movements.

However, the Minister of Information and Government Spokesperson Michael Makuei said several times that FVP Machar is free to move as he wishes.

Also in December 2021, the Inter-governmental Authority on Development said there are no travel restrictions imposed on the SPLM-IO leader.