Pressure is mounting on President William Ruto to find a long-lasting solution for peace in South Sudan as the country inches closer to elections.
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir is banking on President Ruto to come up with a solution after he personally requested the Kenyan Head of State to mediate after initial talks held at the Vatican collapsed. Only a deal acceptable to all squabbling parties will quell the unease.
Kiir and his political adversaries called off hostilities temporarily after signing a peace treaty in Nairobi back in May 2024 known as the Tumaini (Hope) Initiative.
The peace deal however is in jeopardy as Kiir presses on for elections to be held in December 2024, something Machar is opposed to.
Elections need to happen in December and an elected government put in place to replace the current transitional one. If not, Juba is headed on a perilous time ahead since the terms of the peace deal are set to expire in February 2025.
President Ruto hosts President Salva Kiir at his office at State House Nairobi
PCS
In April 2019, Pope Francis had held a notable meeting at the Vatican, where he knelt and kissed the feet of Kiir, Machar, and three other vice presidents to emphasize the need for peace.
Despite this powerful gesture, the Vatican-engineered peace negotiations ultimately faced significant challenges. By March 2023, the talks had broken down, failing to achieve a lasting resolution prompting Juba to reach out to President William Ruto for a solution.
President Ruto recruited the services of former Kenya Army Commander Lazarus Sumbeiywo in the peace process. The military man had worked extensively in South Sudan Peace talks for the late President Moi in his post-retirement drive for peace in Africa.
General Sumbeiywo had also successfully brokered peace deals in South Sudan between the government and rebels on two separate occasions. The first one came in 2005 before South Sudan became independent. The second deal was agreed upon in 2011, one year after the government was formed.
In May 2024, talks officially began in Nairobi led by former Army Commander Sumbeiywo.
Once talks commenced in May, the Kenyan mediation team advocated for a broader-based government. This was part of the team’s mission for a more comprehensive agreement.
This push was driven by concerns that South Sudan’s stability was in significant jeopardy and required more than a temporary power-sharing solution. This proposal was hampered by a dip in economic fortunes for Juba that pushed the oil dependent nation to the edge as their main oil export pipeline that passes through Sudan broke down.
South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 but still relies heavily on its northern neighbor to export oil via two pipelines to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.
A South Sudanese Soldier guards an Oil Pipeline
Photo
International Crisis Group
