President William Ruto will jet to South Sudan on Wednesday for a one-day official meeting with President Salva Kiir.
South Sudan Presidential Press Secretary Lily Martin Manyiel Ayuel announced on Tuesday that the two presidents will meet to discuss the achievements of the Tumaini Initiative.
Tumaini Peace Initiative, which was launched on May 9, 2024, in Nairobi, is a high-level mediation for the conflict in South Sudan.
It incorporates all the holdout groups that have not signed the 2018 R-ARCSS (Revitalised Agreement on Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan).
Ruto, Kiir, and former Kenyan Army Commander and Chief Mediator Major-Gen Lazarus Sumbeiywo are the lead mediators.
“President Ruto will be coming tomorrow (Wednesday) upon the invitation of His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit,” Ayuel told a press conference.
She dismissed reports that Kiir is no longer interested in the Tumaini Initiative.
“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,” she said.
In December 2023, Kiir requested Ruto to take over the mediation lead from the community of Sant’Egidio in Rome, Italy, saying talks were taking too long to find a solution.
Last week, a Government of South Sudan delegation representing a mechanism called the High-Level Standing Committee for South Sudan, led by Cabinet Affairs Minister Martin Elia Lomuro, met Ruto in Nairobi, where it conveyed a message from Kiir.
Last month, the Sumbeiywo reportedly said parties would sign the final agreement in November 2024.
He said the Tumaini Initiative has already completed nine protocols on key agenda items and will finalize the pending.
Sumbeiywo, who also mediated the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that guaranteed South Sudan's path to independence, assured that the current peace negotiations have not collapsed.
The Unity Government and Opposition Alliance (SSOMA) and other stakeholders, kicked off negotiations in May 2024.
