The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, and the Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, are expected to arrive in Juba on Monday for a joint high-level mission aimed at de-escalating tensions and reviving South Sudan’s fragile peace process.
The two leaders will engage with key stakeholders during their two-day visit, focusing on recent political violence that has threatened to derail the country’s transitional arrangements under the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
The leaders of the regional bodies are scheduled to depart on Tuesday. It remains uncertain whether they will meet the detained First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar.
However, civil society leader, Edmund Yakani, has welcomed the visit as a timely intervention, describing the mission as a critical opportunity to restore confidence in the peace process.
“The mission of the AU and IGAD comes at a crucial time within the scope of de-escalating the breakout violence in the country among parties to the Revitalised Agreement, which is challenging the faith in our political transition,” Yakani said in a statement on Sunday.
He added that the visit is a direct response to sustained advocacy by civil society organisations. “We are so impressed that at least IGAD and the AU have responded to our calls,” he said. “This is a positive signal from AU and IGAD. We hope our government will effectively engage with them,” he stated.
Reflecting on past missions that yielded limited impact, Yakani stressed the importance of learning from previous shortcomings. “The lessons from previous visits should not repeat themselves. These two leaders have supported us throughout our struggle for independence and our attempts to restore political order through the peace agreement.”
“We appeal to the AU and IGAD to hold inclusive meetings with all parties to the peace agreement. The goal must be to build national consensus,” Yakani added. “South Sudanese have disagreed on how to transition the country from violence to peace, but as stakeholders, we are united in our belief that the only viable path is through dialogue, not violence.”
