The president of Kenya, William Ruto, is expected to fly to South Sudan on Wednesday for a one-day official working visit, according to Presidential Press Secretary Lily Martin Manyiel Ayuel.
Addressing journalists at a press conference on Tuesday, Manyiel said President Ruto is expected to brief President Salva Kiir on the progress of the Tumaini Initiative being mediated by the Kenyan government between the Government of South Sudan and holdout opposition groups that did not sign the 2018 revitalized peace agreement.
“The purpose of this short press conference is just to inform you about the working visit of President William Ruto of Kenya. President Ruto will be coming tomorrow (Wednesday) upon the invitation of His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit,” she said.
The presidential spokesperson dispelled rumors that President Kiir is no longer interested in the Tumaini Initiative.
“The purpose of the visit, the working visit for President Ruto, is to inform, compare notes, touch base, and update President Salva Kiir Mayardit on the peace talks,” Manyiel stated. “This visit will be important too because it will put to rest impressions out there. There is so much impression going out there that His Excellency the President has aborted, abandoned, and is no more interested in the Tumaini Initiative.”
In December 2023, President Kiir requested Kenya’s President Ruto to take over the mediation lead from the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome, Italy, saying that the talks had taken long without reaching a solution.
Last week, a Government of South Sudan delegation representing a mechanism called the High-Level Standing Committee for South Sudan, led by Cabinet Affairs Minister Martin Elia Lomuro, met with Kenya’s President William Ruto in Nairobi where it conveyed a message from President Kiir.
A source who preferred anonymity disclosed to Radio Tamazuj at the time that the government delegation conveyed a four-page document from President Kiir to President Ruto. The letter also had a 54-page attachment in which the South Sudan government explained its concerns about some mechanisms in the Tumaini Initiative protocols.
“The 54-page document contains many concerns about the mechanisms of the Tumaini Initiative such as the National Leadership Council (NLC), the National Implementation Oversight Commission (NIOC), and other bodies,” the source intimated. “The government delegation said anything already stipulated in the Revitalized Agreement should not be mentioned again in the Tumaini protocols.”
According to the government delegation, another source said, the Tumaini Initiative should be an annex to the 2018 Peace Agreement and not replace its mechanisms. He added that the government wanted the current peace talks to complement and not obliterate the 2018 peace deal.
When asked about the response of the Kenyan President, one of the sources said: “The Kenyan leader referred the matter to the government of South Sudan to meet the holdout groups to iron out any pending issues. Also, President Ruto is expected to visit Juba at the invitation of President Salva Kiir.”
It remains unclear if the holdout opposition groups will accept to renegotiate some of the contested peace mechanisms.