The parties to the South Sudan high-level mediation in Nairobi, often referred to as the hold-out groups, are expected to sign the final agreement in November following the completion of nine protocols touching on key agenda items.
The revelations from the mediation team signal a revival of the final stages of the talks, which had appeared suspended for the past two months after the government delegation went to Juba for consultations.
In an interview with The EastAfrican, the chief mediator, Lt-Gen (Rtd) Lazarus Sumbeiywo, said that negotiations on all but one of the protocols had been completed, indicating that the one on Responsibility Sharing (power sharing) remained unfinished. The mediator said the remaining part should be completed in the next week.
“There should be no cause for alarm because, in many mediations, delegates are allowed to go back to consult with their members.”
“The Transitional Government of National Unity is made up of five parties that are represented in Tumaini, so it is natural for them to brief their members on what they have achieved,” said Lt-Gen Sumbeiywo.
Sumbeiywo, who had helped mediate South Sudan’s journey to secession from Sudan, is leading the talks between the coalition government under President Salva Kiir and groups that had initially refused to sign the 2018 peace agreement that brought in place the transitional government. The talks are formally known as the Tumaini Initiative.
Members of the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (Ssoma) involved in the talks had expressed concern that the government delegation was taking too long in Juba, amid reports that some elements in the government and security sector were opposed to the Tumaini and were trying to scuttle it.
Some sources told The EastAfrican that the coalition government had been wrangling over whether to allow the holdout groups in the coalition government, with some senior government officials fearing it could dilute their relevance.
The EastAfrican had also learnt that some senior security officials were particularly opposed to the deal.Last week, President Kiir sacked the head of the National Security Services (NSS), Gen Akol Koor Kuc, and appointed him as a state governor. It was unclear whether Kuc was among those opposed but Kiir did not give reasons for his dismissal.