President William Ruto is doubling down on his mission to bring peace to South Sudan. Ruto on Thursday held phone talks with South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar, pressing them to choose dialogue over guns to restore security.
“I implored both leaders to engage towards fostering peace,” Ruto said, underscoring his belief that talking it out is the only way forward.
This is after a troubling development where key figures loyal to First Vice President Riek Machar were arrested.
On Tuesday, General Gabriel Duop Lam, the deputy army chief and a Machar ally, was detained. The next day, Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol, along with his bodyguards and family, was also arrested.
Meanwhile, soldiers from the national defense forces surrounded Machar’s residence in the capital, Juba, tightening security around the vice president.
No official explanation has been provided for these arrests, which came shortly after an armed group linked to Machar overran a military base in Upper Nile state in the country’s north.
South Sudan’s troubles kicked off in 2013 when a political spat within the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) spiraled into a brutal civil war, fueled by ethnic tensions.
The result? Mass displacement, shattered lives, and a string of shaky peace deals—2015, 2017, 2018, and 2024—that have failed to stop the violence. The 2018 Revitalized Agreement birthed a unity government, but its rollout has crawled, leaving instability in its wake.
Ruto’s latest push builds on Kenya’s Tumaini Initiative, relaunched in November 2024 after a three-month hiatus.
The Nairobi-brokered talks scored a win by roping in holdout groups—like the Sudan Liberation Army Movement and Justice and Equality Movement—that snubbed the 2018 Juba deal.
“Regional consultations are underway to chart the best path,” Ruto told Kiir and Machar, signaling a broader EAC and IGAD effort to stabilize South Sudan.
The Tumaini Initiative, paired with IGAD’s Strategic Framework, aims to breathe life into the 2018 agreement. With violence persisting despite past promises, Ruto’s betting on dialogue to break the cycle—and Kenyans are watching to see if his peacemaking pays off.
