Dr. Riek Machar, first vice president and SPLM-IO leader, in his office in Juba in July 2020 | Credit | James Gatdet

The Inter-governmental Authority on Development has said there are no travel restrictions imposed on South Sudan’s First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar.

The revelation was made in a communique issued after the 38th Extra-Ordinary Summit of the IGAD Heads of States in Djibouti Sunday.

Last week, Maj. Gen Charles Tai Gituai, the interim chairperson of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) said they were addressing movement restrictions imposed on the First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar.

This was after the opposition leader told the SPLM-IO conference early this month that his movements were still being restricted by the Inter-governmental Authority on Development — IGAD.

Last month, the IGAD Liaison Office in Juba also said it had written to the region to allow freedom of movement of Dr. Machar, who is a co-principal of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement.

Dr. Machar was previously exiled to South Africa, where the IGAD placed him under house arrest.

He was later relocated to Khartoum and finally to Juba to form the new government of national unity with President Salva Kiir.

Some activists believe the region has not yet withdrawn the restrictions it imposed on Dr. Machar in 2017.

But the SPLA-IO chief of general staff said Dr. Machar has been unable to visit troops at the cantonment sites to update them on the implementation of the revitalized peace deal.

“There are currently no travel restrictions of any kind imposed by IGAD on the First Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan, Dr. Riek Machar Teny,” the IGAD communique said.

Recently, the minister of information, Michael Makuei had also refuted the claims that the first vice president is being restricted from traveling within and outside the country.