Children of a Lesser God: Report of the Investigation into the Power Politics behind the Removal of the Kenyan Force Commander of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) (IPG, November 2016, 41 pages)

What it is
An IPG investigation into why UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon removed Lieutenant General Johnson Mogoa Kimani Ondieki, a Kenyan, as Force Commander of UNMISS in November 2016. These are the report’s findings and arguments, not established facts.

The decision the report challenges
The removal followed an independent investigation led by Danish Major-General Patrick Cammaert into the violence in Juba between 8 and 25 July 2016, including an attack on the Terrain Hotel compound where foreign nationals, including Americans, were targeted. Ondieki had been in post for only about three weeks when the fighting began.

Main argument

• A political decision, not a fair one: IPG argues that the removal broke UN procedures and made the Kenyan commander a scapegoat. It says the aim was to relieve pressure from some Permanent Members of the Security Council, mainly the US and Britain.
• A cover-up: It argues the move helped Washington cover its own failure to warn and protect its citizens, since US policy in South Sudan made Americans likely targets. It compares the case to Benghazi.
• The investigation did not blame Ondieki: The report says the independent investigation itself did not lay the blame on him, but pointed to wider systemic and logistical problems in UNMISS. It adds that he had been defended by the mission’s head and by the UN peacekeeping department for his leadership and bravery.
• Racial bias: It sees an ingrained profiling of African militaries, comparable to the International Criminal Court’s dealings with Africa. The title refers to Africans being treated as “children of a lesser God.”
• Kenya’s response: Kenya protested the lack of transparency and consultation, rejected the offer to name a replacement, withdrew its troops from UNMISS, and disengaged from the South Sudan peace process.

Method
Document review (UN resolutions, rules of engagement, procedures, Security Council debates, media), interviews with Kenyan and South Sudanese government figures and UNMISS staff, and a visit by two IPG researchers to Juba from 6 to 8 November 2016.

Chapters

1. Introduction
2. UNMISS: A Politicized Peacekeeping
3. The Botched Deployment to UNMISS (arrival in Juba, the July crisis, the Terrain Hotel incident, “orientation” or trap?)
4. UNMISS: A Failed Mission
5. Pressure from Washington (why Americans were targeted, echoes from Benghazi)
6. Conclusion
7. Recommendations

Recommendations

1. Reform UN missions in Africa to fix structural and systemic dysfunction.
2. Replace UNMISS with an African-led mission in South Sudan (AMISS).
3. Kenya should stay engaged in the peace process and consider rejoining an African mission.
4. The UN should formally apologise to Kenya and to General Ondieki, and take remedial action.
5. Ondieki and the Kenya Defence Forces should consider seeking legal redress in an international court.
6. The African Union and IGAD should sponsor a resolution censuring the Secretary-General’s decision.