“The national dialogue should be conducted through a bottom-up approach,” proposes the chairperson of the South Sudan Peace Commission. 

Chuol Rambang says consultations should be conducted from boma (village) to payam (district) and county level, building up to a national consensus and hence reuniting and strengthening fractured communities. 

“It is important that everybody is involved because our society is divided, our society is polarized in terms of ethnicity and politics,” he said, adding that the dialogue should embrace the people and prepare the country for full reconciliation.

Chuol Rambang said the dialogue, announced by President Salva Kiir in December, should not be seen as an alternative to the peace agreement, but rather a process that ‘complements the peace process.’

In this interview with Henry Lokuri, Mr. Rambang starts by suggesting that dialogue is a process that should take time and involve all voices.