Rebecca Garang, who was put under house arrest by Salva Kiir in December 2013 and later left the country, has returned to Juba from Nairobi after nearly two years in exile. She visited the tomb of her late husband in Juba and held prayers at her house shortly after her return this morning.

She is the widow of John Garang de Mabior, the founder of the SPLM/A, who died in a plane crash in 2005, leading to Salva Kiir's takeover of the party. She has been loosely associated with the SPLM “Former Detainees,” high-level SPLM politicians who were also put under arrest by Kiir in December 2013.

Mama Rebecca said today, “Peace is for the people of Southern Soudan, peace is for needy people of Southern Sudan. And I am here as a mother of people of Southern Sudan... all of us came, we are bringing peace, there is nothing else that we are bringing.”

“We ask God, Jesus Christ, to give us all the strength so that we implement this peace.”

Other members of the group returning to Juba today include Oyai Deng, Majak d'Agoot, John Luk and Deng Alor, all of whom are former ministers or deputy ministers.

“We have come home finally,” said John Luk, spokesman of the SPLM Former Detainees, after their arrival at Juba Airport today. “As a result of the peace agreement that was signed and finalized in Ethiopia there is no further negotiations in Ethiopia. What is left for us is to implement what we had agreed. And therefore it requires that all of us are in South Sudan.”

Michael Makuei, the information minister, received the SPLM delegation on behalf of the government. He said, “This is a team that is coming here to come and participate and help in the implmementation of the agreement. So we highly welcome them and the Government of the Republic of South Sudan is happy to receive them back.”

Bashir Gbandi, the deputy foreign minister, was also at the Juba Airport this morning to receive Rebecca Garang and the SPLM-G10 delegation.

Rebecca Garang also said, "People of Southern Sudan will have their freedom. And we have accepted and we are going to embrace peace, all of us."