President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and President Salva Kiir of South Sudan met in Juba today for about three hours. Neither leader disclosed the outcomes of the meeting.

Kenyatta said in brief remarks to the press after his meeting that he came to consult with President Kiir and to “show our support and solidarity to him and the people of South Sudan, and also to share our concern.”

He called the meeting ‘fruitful’, reiterating also the position of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the East African regional bloc which brokered a ceasefire between the South Sudanese factions last month.

“We want to see especially the position that we set together as IGAD followed, implemented, we want to see cessation of hostilities,” said Kenyatta.

“We want to have the ability in the shortest possible time to also put in place the monitoring mechanism. All of these efforts, all geared towards ensuring quick, speedy resolution, peace for the people of South Sudan, and stability for the whole region,” said Kenyatta.

The meeting came one day after the Kenyan presidency decided to send 310 more troops to the Kenya Battalion in South Sudan under the auspices of UNMISS.

The decision was made at a meeting of the country’s National Security Council in a meeting yesterday chaired by President Kenyatta.

“The additional deployment is necessary to increase the current strength to 1000 troops due to the skirmishes in South Sudan amongst factions within the SPLM,” stated Manoah Esipisu, State House Spokesperson, in an update on the website of the Kenyan presidency.

President Uhuru was accompanied by Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed, Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo and Kenya’s Special Representative on South Sudan peace talks, Mr. Dalmas Otieno.

Photo: President Uhuru Kenyatta (centre), Interior CS Joseph Lenku (left) and Kenya's envoy in South Sudan crisis resolution Dalmas Otieno (Office of the President/Republic of Kenya)