Ex-Ugandan spy chief under US sanctions to head South Sudan’s peace-monitoring body

JUBA – A Ugandan general has been appointed as head of South Sudan transitional security monitoring and verification mechanism.

Maj. Gen Abel Kandiho, head of the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) since January 2017, was on Tuesday removed by President Yoweri Museveni weeks after he was sanctioned by the United States over human rights violation.

Kandiho was, the US statement noted, sometimes personally involved in leading interrogations of detained individuals, often singled out for their political views, their nationality or for criticizing government.

The removal of the general came in the wake of a recent meeting between Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and the commander of Uganda’s land forces, Lt. Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Muhoozi of President Museven’s son.

Rwandan officials have, have in recent years, accused the former intelligence chief of allegedly working with dissidents to kidnap Rwandese citizens in Uganda.

The appointment of the U.S sanctioned Ugandan army general caused consternation among South Sudanese, with elites and security experts questioning motives the new assignment to a country also struggling to improve its image from allegations and accusations related to human right violations.

While some South Sudanese expressed fears such a development would dampen strained relations between the U.S and South Sudan, others called for background checks on foreign nationals before they eventually assume roles in the country.

The Ceasefire Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM) is the multinational body that monitors compliance with the South Sudan peace agreement signed in September 2018. It has monitoring and verification teams located in nine of South Sudan’s most conflict-hit areas.