Ruto meets South Sudan’s opposition hold-out groups and adjourns peace talks
President William Ruto has announced the adjournment of the South Sudan peace talks, citing the need for further consultations among the parties involved in the Tumaini Initiative.
In a statement shared on his X account on February 20, 2025, Ruto announced that the discussions are set to resume in March 2025.
The decision followed a meeting with opposition holdout groups from South Sudan after a request from the South Sudan government delegation for additional time to facilitate discussions that would inform the next steps.
“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 in his statement.
The opposition delegation included General Pagan Amum, General Paul Malong, General Stephen Buoy, General Mario Lada, Mr. Lual Dau, and Dr. Cirinho Hiteng.
“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,” Ruto added.
Tumaini Initiative
The Tumaini Initiative, launched by Kenya on May 9, 2024, is a high-level mediation process aimed at resolving the conflict in South Sudan.
It seeks to bring together all South Sudanese holdout groups that have not signed the 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) peace agreement.
The 2018 agreement aimed to end South Sudan’s five-year civil war, which claimed over 400,000 lives.
The initiative was established after South Sudan President Salva Kiir requested President Ruto to lead the mediation efforts, following the stalled Rome-based negotiations under the Community of Sant’Egidio.
Timeline of the Sudan peace talks
The peace process has faced several challenges since its inception.
According to a statement by the United Nations Mission In South Sudan (UNMISS) dated December 5, 2024, the talks initially faltered in mid-July 2024 due to concerns about alignment with the existing Revitalized Agreement.
However, discussions resumed on November 6, 2024, following an agreement between Presidents Kiir and Ruto.
“Hosted by the Kenyan Government, the high-level mediation process, known as the Tumaini Initiative (‘hope’ in Swahili), was originally launched in May 2024. The talks faltered in mid-July when concerns were raised about how the new peace process would align with the existing Revitalized Agreement. But, on 6 November, South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit and Kenyan President William Ruto agreed that the talks should resume,” UNMISS stated.
Despite renewed efforts, the December 2024 talks encountered setbacks due to disagreements among the parties involved.
The negotiations resumed in Nairobi on January 20, 2025, before the current adjournment.
The Tumaini Initiative includes participation from major holdout groups, including the Real Sudan People’s Liberation Movement led by Pagan Amum; the South Sudan United Front, led by former SSPDF Chief of Staff Paul Malong Awan; and the South Sudan People’s Movement/Army (SSPM/A), under the leadership of Gen. Stephen Buoy Rolnyang.
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