President RUTO to fly to South Sudan for the Tumaini Initiative peace meeting

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - President William Ruto has today left the country for South Sudan where he will attend a one-day peace meeting.

South Sudan Presidential Press Secretary Lily Martin 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.

The Kenyan DAILY POST