Ruto To Fly Out Of Kenya Tomorrow Following State House Meeting

President William Ruto is set to fly out of the country to South Sudan on Wednesday, November 6 for a meeting with President Salva Kiir.

This was announced on Tuesday, November 5 by South Sudan's Presidential Press Secretary Lily Martin Manyiel Ayuel who disclosed that Ruto will brief Kiir on the progress of the Tumaini Peace Initiative, a high-level mediation for the conflict in South Sudan mediated by the Kenyan Head of State.

"President Ruto will be coming tomorrow (Wednesday) upon the invitation of His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit,” the Presidential Press Secretary said as she quelled rumours that the South Sudan president is no longer interested in the Tumaini initiative saying "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, adding “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."

President William Ruto receives South Sudan President Salva Kiir at State House on August 19, 2023. /PCS

The Tumaini Initiative, which was launched on May 9, 2024, mainly entails talks between the South Sudanese coalition government under President Kiir and groups of South Sudan's Opposition movements.

The groups had initially declined to sign a peace agreement in 2018 known as R-ARCSS (Revitalised Agreement on Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan) which brought in place a transitional government. 

Key among the holdout groups' concerns was the government delegation was taking too long in Juba, which further escalated rumours that elements in government security agencies were keen on scuppering the Tumaini initiative.

Led by Ruto and Kiir, the initiative seeks to establish a new interim government, justice reforms, and a unified military.

“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,” Ruto said during the launch of the initiative.

In December 2023, Kiir requested Ruto to assume the mediation role in peace talks previously led by the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome, expressing concerns that the negotiations had been prolonged without yielding solutions, prompting the shift to Kenya for further discussions on integrating holdout groups into the 2018 peace agreement.

After his meeting last Monday, October 28, Ruto reiterated regional leadership's commitment to curbing forces that posed a threat to the peace of Kenya's key allies.

This trip came after he met Opposition parties' representatives to the Tumaini Initiative at State House today, as a follow-up to his engagement with the Government delegation from South Sudan last week

According to him, "They confirmed their readiness to sign the Tumaini Consensus, the product of sustained inclusive negotiations", to which he also confirmed that he would be meeting Kiir in person.

He stated on his social media accounts that "I will be meeting His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit in an engagement that leads us towards the final signature and implementation of the Tumaini Initiative."

President William Ruto meeting Opposition parties' representatives to the Tumaini Initiative at State House on November 5, 2024. /PCS