The chief mediator of the Tumaini Initiative has outlined three key priorities for South Sudan in a communiqué, marking the adjournment of the third round of talks.
Lt. Gen. Lazaro Sumbeiywo (Rtd) said that the mediation found the main reasons for the conflict, which were then talked over in detail by the negotiating parties and other important people involved in the case by a joint technical committee.
These include political, governance, and leadership crises; power struggles; institutional weaknesses; economic crisis and resource mismanagement; insecurity; lack of social cohesion; and external influences.
While the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement was designed to address these issues, the mediator said the parties acknowledged that its implementation remains ongoing but faces significant challenges.
Given the severe humanitarian crisis and human insecurity in South Sudan, the mediation emphasizes the urgency of effective implementation mechanisms. It has identified three priority areas crucial to ending the prolonged transition and establishing lasting stability.
“These priority areas are the unification of forces and security sector reforms, the permanent constitution-making process, and the holding of free, fair, credible, and transparent elections,” Sumbeiywo stated.
Since gaining independence in 2011, South Sudan has repeatedly postponed its elections. The first elections, initially planned for 2015, were delayed due to the civil war that erupted in 2013, leading to an extension of the government's term under the 2015 peace agreement.
Following the collapse of the 2015 agreement, a new peace deal—the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS)—was signed in 2018, setting elections for 2023.
However, due to delays in implementing key provisions, including a permanent constitution and security arrangements, the elections were rescheduled for December 2024. They further postponed the elections to December 2026.
The ongoing peace talks since May 9, 2024, under the Tumaini Initiative are a Kenyan government effort to achieve lasting peace in South Sudan by bringing in opposition parties that did not sign the 2018 peace agreement as part of the peace process in the country.
The talks resumed on January 20, 2025, after a deadlock over previously agreed protocols, making progress in agreeing on agenda items and identifying the root causes of the conflict in South Sudan. Just as discussions began on the relationship between the 2018 Peace Agreement and the Tumaini Initiative, the government requested an adjournment.
“We requested the adjournment because the members of the delegation, beginning with the head of the delegation, have the responsibility to prepare the country for the coming in of the newly approved extension of the revitalized agreement on the conflict in the Republic of South Sudan,” stated Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro, the government rapporteur for the Tumaini Initiative.
Although the government provided a reason for requesting the adjournment, the opposition characterized it as a lack of commitment to the peace negotiations.
“If the government was serious and committed to this round of the talk, negotiations would have proceeded, peace would have been achieved,” said Lual Dau, spokesperson of the United People Alliance.
The mediators adjourned the talks, but they have not yet announced the date for their resumption. The mediators will announce when the government delegation, who requested the adjournment, is ready to return to the talks.
