President William holds talks with South Sudan Opposition Hold-Out Group on February 20, 2025/ PCSPresident William Ruto has suspended the mediation process between the South Sudan government and the Opposition Hold-Out Group.
The President said that the mediation process stands suspended until March 2025. This, he said, was due to a request from the South Sudan Government delegation.
Ruto said the move will help facilitate consultations that will inform the way forward.
The President said on X after a meeting with the Opposition Hold-Out Group of South Sudan.
“Met the Opposition Hold-Out Group of South Sudan and agreed, at the request of the South Sudan Government delegation, that the mediation process that has been going on in Nairobi adjourns until March 2025 to facilitate consultations that will inform the way forward,” Ruto said.
“At the request of President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan, Kenya has been facilitating the mediation process for the past 11 months in an effort to resolve the political stalemate that has resulted in a serious humanitarian situation and difficult security challenges.”
The Opposition Hold-Out Group delegation was led by General Pagan Amum.
Others were Gen Paul Malong, Gen Stephen Buoy, Gen Mario Lada, Mr Lual Dau and Dr Cirinho Hiteng.
In April 2024, former Army Commander Lazarus Sumbeiywo assumed office as the chief mediator in the conflict in South Sudan.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei handed over the leadership to Sumbeiywo after months of steering the process.
Ruto named Sumbeiywo the chief mediator between holdout groups and the government in Juba.
President Ruto said that he had been assigned at the request of President Salva Kiir of South Sudan.
Ruto said he was turning to Sumbeiywo because he understood the problem.
"Based on your wealth of experience and invaluable contribution in negotiating and the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, I appoint you as the Chief Mediator from April 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025," Ruto said in a dispatch from State House.
Sumbeiywo was Kenya’s Special Envoy on Sudan between 1997 and 1998 before President Daniel Moi later assigned him the role of mediating between the government in Khartoum, under Omar al-Bashir, and the late John Garang's Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).
The mediation led to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 which gave Southern Sudan autonomy and later led to a referendum for independence in 2011, which created South Sudan.
