President William Ruto will on Wednesday jet out of the country for a meeting with South Sudan President Salva Kiir in Juba.
In a statement, South Sudan Press Secretary, Lily Martin Manyiel Ayuela said President Ruto is expected to be received by President Kiir and update him on the Tumaini Initiative which is being mediated by the Kenyan government.
“President William Ruto of Kenya will be coming tomorrow, upon the invitation of President Salva Kiir. 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.
“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,” Manyiel said.
Launched on 9 May 2024, the Tumaini Initiative mainly involves talks between the South Sudanese coalition government led by President Kiir and groups from South Sudan’s opposition movements.
Named after the Swahili word for ‘hope’, the initiative aims to bring together all groups that did not sign the 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
“This initiative exemplifies the Pan-African policy of African solutions to African challenges, contributing to the ‘Silencing the Guns in Africa initiative’ and fostering an environment for transformational development in South Sudan, our region, and the entire African continent,” President Ruto said during the launch of the initiative.
Former Kenyan Army Commander Major General Lazarus Sumbeiywo is spearheading the initiative together with President Salva Kiir and President Ruto.
Ruto’s visit to Juba comes less than a week after he visited Burundi for high-level discussions at the COMESA Summit.
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