Kenyatta urges South Sudan’s leaders to restore peace and stability

The Kenyan leader said he had come to Juba to encourage South Sudan’s leaders to restore peace and stability across the country, adding “these are key ingredients for the prosperity that we wish for the people of South Sudan”.

South Sudanese had fought so hard for decades to achieve their independence, not to return to war but to ensure the country prospers, Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta said.

“We are here to ask the government to push along the peace agreement and the reforms that were agreed to under that peace agreement and to see how that can be fast tracked,” Kenyatta told reporters after the meeting with Kiir.

Kenyatta is the first head of state to visit Juba following last month’s fighting, which forced former First Vice-President, Riek Machar out of the capital Juba, before he was replaced by his former chief negotiator, Taban Deng Gai.

July’s fighting in Juba left hundreds dead and tens of thousands displaced.

The Kenyan leader also said he was in Juba to support the South Sudanese people and the government morally and materially to help accelerate the peace process.

“We are here to offer any support so that we can ensure we have peace and stability – and then ultimately working together as a region, begin to work for the prosperity of our region and our people,” he added.

Kenyatta did not elaborate what kind of material support Kenya would extend to South Sudan.

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit said that South Sudan was now peaceful and there was no more fighting. “There is no fighting in South Sudan. There is no war. People are very peaceful in Juba and whatever people say is not the situation on the ground,” he said.

However, there have been reports of violent clashes, the latest coming from Yei.

“For President Uhuru Kenyatta to come to Juba – as the first head of state to come to Juba after our crisis – shows that the regional leadership is with us and they are very concerned about the situation in South Sudan,” Kiir said.

Kiir also urged the gathered media representatives that they should write only what they “are sure of”. “We are not against anybody reporting, but we don’t want things that are unfounded to be reported in the media,” he added.