By Manas James Okony
Activists in South Sudan express optimism about the potential for a new era in the country, as government delegation and holdout groups continue negotiations at the Kenyan-led Tumaini initiative.
Since January 20, 2025, talks resumed and have been ongoing in Nairobi, Kanya, between the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGONU) and the opposition United People’s Alliance (UPA), formerly known as the South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance (SSOMA).
The initiative, aptly named Tumaini (meaning “Hope”), is organized by the Government of Kenya and resumed following a deadlock in December.
While negotiations experienced a brief setback upon resuming, with the opposition advocating for the Tumaini initiative to be recognized as a stand-alone agreement—an idea the government deemed a non-starter—the discussions have since regained momentum.
The government delegation insists that Tumaini should function as an annex to the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), which outlines the current government structure.
In an interview with No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper yesterday, Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), shared his insights on the negotiations.
“Talks are progressing well in Nairobi, with the agenda items already being agreed upon,” he noted. “Today (Thursday), the delegations deliberated on the relationship between Tumaini and R-ARCSS. The debate will be intense regarding whether Tumaini will serve as an annex or a complementary framework.”
Yakani highlighted that key agenda items include addressing the root causes of the conflict, defining the relationship between R-ARCSS and Tumaini, power sharing, and establishing an implementation matrix.
The activst conveyed optimism. “Tumaini will serve as a complementary agreement to facilitate the political transition.”
Tumaini initiative was launched on May 9, 2024, in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, as a high-level mediation to incorporate major holdout opposition groups that didn’t endorse the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), in September 2018.
Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto leads the mediation initiative. In March 2024, Ruto appointed his country’s ex-army commander Lazaro Sumbeiywo as the Chief Mediator. Gen. Sumbeiywo is known to many in South Sudan.
Nearly two decades ago, he mediated a peace agreement between the Government of Sudan (GoS) and the then-rebel SPLM giving birth to South Sudan.