By Philip Buda Ladu
National Minister of Information and government spokesman, Michael Makuei Lueth, has dismissed online claims suggesting that the Kenya-led peace negotiations in Nairobi-the Tumaini Initiative is dead.
Makuei emphasized that the Tumaini Initiative is a peace process aimed at bringing peace to the people of South Sudan.
He dismissed as false all the rumors circulating within and outside the country that the Tumaini Initiative had ended.
Makuei emphasized that the initiative is a peace process meant to bring peace to the people of South Sudan, terming as untrue all the rumors circulating within and outside the country that the Tumaini Initiative has died.
“So there are those who said Tumaini is dead, and there are those who have been saying that since the extension of the transitional period is done, we don’t need any peace agreement,” said Makuei.
“I believe personally that Tumaini is not dead, but it is alive because it is the other part of the coin that will bring peace to the republic of South Sudan,” he added.
The Minister assured that the peace process is intact and the government is working to ensure that its delegation is back to Nairobi to continue with the remaining contentious issues on the negotiating table.
Makuei spoke on Monday during a meeting with the Norwegian Ambassador to South Sudan.
Their meeting centred on the fate of the Tumaini Initiative and the recent extension of the Revitalized Agreement for the resolution of the conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS), delaying elections until December 2026.
According to Makuei, who is also the government rapporteur to the Nairobi peace talks, the recent extension was meant to give life and legitimacy to the current interim unity government and not put an end to the ongoing peace process in Nairobi.
The Norwegian Ambassador, Roar Haugsdal, hailed his meeting with the Minister, pledging Norway’s unwavering support to the Tumaini Initiative.
In a statement, Edmund Yakani, the executive director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), promised to effectively engage in regional lobbying for the success of Tumaini Peace Talks.
He hinted that the success of the Tumaini Consensus will foster inclusive government and a genuine political transition of the “our country” situation from violence to peace.
The activist emphasized that the Nairobi peace talks are not intended to undermine the revitalized peace agreement or replace the transitional unity government.
He added that the initiative is a goodwill of the president in search of genuine peace across the nation, which shouldn’t be undermined by peace spoilers using foreseeable integration of the holdout groups’ politicians at the negotiating table into the R-TGoNU as justification.