Addis Ababa, 03 June 2015 (WIC) – On Friday last week, President Kenyatta hosted a meeting of representatives of the IGAD peace process and Arusha talks to unite the SPLM factions, as well as 10 former SPLM officials, MoFA reported.
The meeting was also attended by the Secretary General of Tanzania’s ruling party, the CCM, Abdirahman Kinana and special envoys from South Africa representing the guarantors of the Arusha Accord, the initiative by Tanzania and South Africa designed to re-unify SPLM.
President Kenyatta said the IGAD peace mediation and the Arusha agreement would now be merged and this would provide a new impetus for the Sudan peace process.
President Kenyatta said “the two processes have come together and the former detainees who have been in Nairobi are ready to go back home to bring peace back to their country by reconciling the warring leaders.”
Five of the former political detainees left for Juba on Monday. They were accompanied by South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, President Jacob Zuma’s special envoy to Southern Sudan and by Ethiopia’s Foregin Minister Dr. Tedros; and Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary, Ms. Amina Mohamed.
South Africa’s deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said the return of the five former detainees marked a “big day for peace in South Sudan.” This was, he said, “part of the process of making sure that we restore peace once again.
One of the former detainees, Pagan Amum, said the group were not interested in any position in Government but would make every effort to reunite President Kiir and his former Vice President for the sake of the people.
He said their first task was to unite the SPLM and to deal with obstacles blocking the IGAD process. IGAD is expected hold an extraordinary summit in Johannesburg, South Africa on the sidelines of the African Union Summit on June 14.