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Talks on outstanding thorny issues for Tumaini Initiative to resume

Kenya’s President William Ruto (Left), President Salva Kiir (Middle) and First Vice President Riek Machar in Juba-Courtesy

Kenya’s President William Ruto announced that discussions on the outstanding issues of the Tumaini (hope) Initiative between the Government of South Sudan and the holdout opposition groups will resume in Nairobi.

“Glad that the parties involved in South Sudan’s peace process have agreed to resume mediation in Nairobi to address outstanding issues,” President Ruto said in a post on X following his visit to Juba on Wednesday.

The Kenyan leader said it was encouraging to see that “the gaps between the government and opposition can be bridged, consequently paving the way for a new era of sustainable peace and prosperity.”

“In Juba, South Sudan, held talks with President Salva Kiir Mayardit and First Vice-President Riek Machar on the Tumaini Initiative peace process. We agreed to involve the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to engage the entire region and secure support from the international community for political goodwill, both regionally and globally,” he concluded.

According to a draft joint communique seen by Radio Tamazuj, President Kiir and President Ruto directed the mediation team to reconvene and resolve outstanding issues within two weeks to finalize the mediation process.

“Their Excellences appreciated that parties had reached an agreement on nine protocols which have been initialled so far,” the draft said.

The two leaders, according to the draft communique, agreed to secure regional endorsement of the Tumaini Initiative and urge IGAD to mobilize resources and goodwill of the international community, including the Troika group of nations to enable full implementation of the peace initiative.

Edmund Yakani, a South Sudanese political observer, told Radio Tamazuj that the resumption of the talks on the Tumaini Initiative is a strategic political process to gain stability in the country by including the holdout group.

He urged President Salva Kiir to direct the return of the government delegation to the Tumaini Initiative talks in Nairobi.

“The remaining time from the previous extended transitional period of four months should be used for the completion of the Tumaini Initiative peace process and linking the outcomes of the Tumaini talks and R-ARCSS [Revitalized Peace Agreement] pending tasks through concrete and clearly developed implementation matrix with a focus on elections in December 2026,” he said.

Tumaini Initiative was launched on May 9, 2024, in Nairobi.

It is a high-level mediation for the conflict in South Sudan by incorporating all the holdout groups that have not signed the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan.

President Ruto and former Kenyan Army Commander and Chief Mediator Major-Gen Lazarus Sumbeiywo are the lead initiative mediators.

In December 2023, South Sudan’s President Kiir requested President Ruto to take over the mediation lead from the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome, Italy, saying that the talks with the opposition group had taken long without reaching a solution.

The Kenya-led peace talks halted in July after some government representatives raised concerns over some peace mechanisms adopted in the negotiations.  

The holdout groups participating in the Kenya-led Tumaini Initiative peace process include the Real-Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, led by Pagan Amum; the South Sudan United Front, led by Paul Malong Awan, the former chief of staff of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF); and the South Sudan People’s Movement/Army (SSPM/A), led by Gen. Stephen Buoy Rolnyang.