Kenya accuses UN of disrespect for sacking S. Sudan force chief

The government has hit back at the United Nations secretary-general for urging the immediate sacking of the Kenyan commander of the UN military mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called for the sacking of Lt Gen Johnson Mogoa Kimani Ondieki who was appointed in May to lead the 16,000-member UN force in the violence-plagued East African country.

The government in a statement said it had been invited to nominate a replacement for Lt Gen Ondieki, a move it said “revealed a high degree of disrespect for our country, and lack of confidence in our troops and their contribution to regional peace processes.”

“The Government of Kenya is convinced that the manner in which the United Nations and its Independent Special Investigation have handled this grave matter, will not address the root causes of the unfortunate incidences in South Sudan nor does it offer a sustainable solution to the recurring violence in South Sudan” read a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“What is clear is that UNMMISS suffers from fundamental structural and systemic dysfunctionality, which has severely hindered its ability to discharge its mandate since its inception.”

Lt Gen Ondieki’s removal was announced on Tuesday shortly after the release of a special report on Unmiss’ performance during a July attack on civilians at the Hotel Terrain in South Sudan’s capital, Juba.

“The special investigation found that Unmiss did not respond effectively to the violence due to an overall lack of leadership, preparedness and integration among the various components of the mission,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

The report itself cited “a lack of leadership on the part of key senior mission personnel (that) culminated in a chaotic and ineffective response to the violence.”

‘‘During the attack,” the report stated, “civilians were subjected to and witnessed gross human rights violations, including murder, intimidation, sexual violence and acts amounting to torture perpetrated by armed government soldiers.”

The UN force “did not operate under a unified command, resulting in multiple and sometimes conflicting orders to the four troop contingents from China, Ethiopia, Nepal and India,” according to the report.

The disorganisation and confused response resulted in “underusing the more than 1,800 infantry troops” present in the vicinity of the Terrain Hotel, the report added.