South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir (R) and his former deputy turned rebel leader Riek Machar (L) shake hands as they make a last peace deal at the 33rd Extraordinary Summit of Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Addis Ababa on September 12, 2018/ YONAS TADESSE – AFP
NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 9 – Rival South Sudan leaders Salva Kiir and Riek Machar are set for a face to face meeting in the country’s capital, Juba, on Monday in what Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has termed as a significant step towards the implementation of a pre-transition period to a unity government.
The last public appearance of the two in Juba was on October 31, 2018, when Machar returned to the capital for the first time in over two years for the commemoration of a peace agreement in a ceremony graced by a host of regional leaders including Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, Ethiopia’s Sahle-Work Zewde, and Somalia’s Mohamed Abdullahi.
Kiir and Machar later met in Vatican on April 11 when Pope Francis hosted them at his Santa Marta residence accompanied by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma Monday confirmed the meeting between President Kiir and his former deputy Machar, following initial reports by the AFP news agency.
Juma lauded the two leaders’ resolve to end a political crisis in South Sudan saying Kenya would support efforts towards peace and stability which she said is key to regional stability.
“Kenya welcomes today’s (Monday) face to face meeting between President Salva Kiir and Dr Riek Machar. It is particularly significant that the meeting is taking place in Juba, South Sudan. This is a sure step towards giving further impetus to the implementation of the pre-transitional arrangements, envisaged in the revised peace agreement,” she tweeted.
“Kenya commends this development and remains as always, by the side of our brothers and sisters in South Sudan, as they define their future, guarantee our regional stability and shared future,” the CS pointed out.
In this photo taken and released on April 11, 2019 by the Vatican Press Office, Vatican Media, Pope Francis (C) poses with South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit (C-L), South Sudan opposition leader Riek Machar (C-R), the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (8thL), South Sudan’s Deputy President Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior (7thL) and a delegation of South Sudan prelates at the Pope’s Santa Marta residence in the Vatican/ Handout – VATICAN MEDIA / AFP
Quoting South Sudan’s Government Spokesperson Michael Makuei, the AFP on Sunday reported Machar would meet President Kiir in his first visit to Juba in a year.
Kang Pal Chol, a senior member of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), Machar’s breakaway formation of the governing Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), told AFP the exiled leader was coming to the capital for a peace mission.
The 67th Extraordinary Session of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Council of Ministers on May 3 endorsed a six-month extension of a pre-transitional period for a unity government in South Sudan due to lapse on May 12.
Kenya said the seven-member Council had “agreed that the trajectory of peace, stability and prosperity of South Sudan must be sustained.”
The decision by IGAD’s Council of Ministers effectively gave Kiir and Machar until November 12 to establish an eight-month transition to a unity government as laid down in the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) signed in Addis Ababa on September 12 last year.
Pope Francis on April 11 knelt and kissed the feet of leaders of South Sudan at the end of a two-day retreat to help them solidify a peace agreement/AFP
Machar fled Juba in 2016 after falling out with his boss. Kiir has since taken credit for saving the life of his former Vice President amid a hail of gunfire pitting rival forces against each other at the J1 State residence.
An eight-member delegation of the IGAD ministers on May 8 met President Kiir ahead of an anticipated arrival of Machar in Juba for the implementation of R-ARCSS, but the latter canceled the meeting citing unresolved security arrangements.
“Machar will not come to Juba without security arrangements,” Puot Kang Chol, a representative of SPLM-IO, had told Aljazeera in April.
Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Ababu Namwamba at the time cautioned against a further extension to the transitional period insisting that the extension granted by IGAD ministers would be be a one-off.
“It is essential that we stick to the timelines and the targets in the implementation of the R-ARCSS in its fullness. Further, the 6-month window must not be misconstrued as a window for renegotiation of any aspects of the peace agreement in its letter and spirit but must rather be seen as a logistical opportunity to get our act together on the pending implementation milestones,” he said.
IGAD’s May 3 communique indicated parties to the R-ARCSS had agreed on an extension to a pre-transition period to allow “the execution of critical pending tasks,” including security concerns raised by Machar which Kiir’s administration has repeatedly assured have been addressed.
“The outcome of the meeting includes the agreement in principle for extension of the Pre-Transitional Period for six months to be tabled for consideration at the upcoming 67th Extraordinary Session of the IGAD Council of Ministers that will be held on 7th to 8th May in Juba, South Sudan,” the communiqué read.
The joint statement by parties to the R-ARCSS had singled out the delayed unification of government forces – SPLM – and those allied to Machar – SPLM-IO – as a major hurdle to the implementation of the Addis Ababa peace agreement.
“The Parties observed that key Pre-Transitional tasks that are critical for the formation of the Revitalized Government of National Unity such as the cantonment, screening, training, unification and deployment of forces and the determination of the number and boundaries of state are pending.”
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