Civil society leader Edmond Yakani has urged President Salva Kiir to operationalise South Sudan’s Commission for Truth, Healing and Reconciliation before the country holds its planned elections in December 2026.
Yakani, the Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organisation (CEPO), said the commission is urgently needed to address deep wounds, grievances and divisions left by years of violence in South Sudan.
He said all major steps required to establish the commission have already been completed, including the legal framework and the selection of commissioners.
According to Yakani, four national commissioners two women and two men have been selected through a national process, while the African Union and the United Nations have completed the process of identifying three additional regional and international commissioners.
He said the list of the three commissioners, comprising one woman and two men, was submitted to the South Sudan government in June 2026.
“Where we stand now, we are standing at a point where the Commission for Truth, Healing and Reconciliation is supposed to be officially established and operationalised,” Yakani said.
However, he raised concern over what he described as credible information that some individuals within government are opposing the establishment and functioning of the commission.
Yakani warned that continued delays could undermine efforts to repair South Sudan’s social fabric ahead of the elections.
He argued that the commission would provide a platform for communities to address past abuses, seek truth, promote forgiveness and reconciliation, and help rebuild trust among political leaders and citizens.
“The broken social fabric needs to be repaired, and that can be through the function of the Commission.”
“The wounds that people have experienced as bitter wounds need to be healed,” he said.
Yakani also accused unnamed officials of becoming “spoilers of transitional justice”, saying their actions appeared to demonstrate a lack of political will and commitment to the process.
He appealed directly to President Kiir to ensure that the commission is established and begins its work in August.
“With high respect and honour, we would like to appeal to His Excellency the President. There is a need to bring the Commission for Truth, Healing and Reconciliation to function in the month of August,” Yakani said.
He said launching the commission before the elections would give South Sudanese an opportunity to confront painful truths, reconcile political and social differences and begin a process of healing.
Yakani maintained that transitional justice should not be postponed, arguing that truth, forgiveness, healing and reconciliation are essential to South Sudan’s transition from conflict to lasting peace.
