South Sudan's unending conflict is disappointing, says Raila

ODM leader Raila Odinga with representatives of civil society groups in South Sudan at his office on Thursday August 2, 2018. /EVANS OUMA

ODM leader Raila Odinga has expressed disappointment with the unending crisis in South Sudan.

He said Kenya will not, however, stop taking a central role in the negotiations between President Salva Kiir and former VP Riek Machar.

Raila spoke after a meeting with representatives of civil society groups from South Sudan.

He said the team had briefed him on developments in the country and expressed their strong desire for Kenya to take over the peace process.

"We had hoped that independence in South Sudan would give way to reconstruction as happened in Vietnam and Algeria after protracted wars. But we have been disappointed."

"We, however, remain committed to the strategic partnership between our country and theirs and we will not give up," Raila said on his twitter page.

South Sudanese government on July 25 signed a peace agreement with the rebel group SPLM-IO which is associated with Machar.

However, another opposition group SPLM rejected the agreement saying it contained several shortfalls, including a "serious lack of consistency in allocating power-sharing ratios at all levels of governance".

On Wednesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta was given updates on the Khartoum Peace Agreement which states that Machar be reinstated as Vice President.

Sudan's Foreign Affairs Minister Al-Dirdiri Ahmed and Uhuru discussed the developments around the deal in line with the mandate of the IGAD Summit of June 21.

The President said he will be at the next IGAD Summit where the two South Sudanese leaders are expected to sign the agreements as well as chart the next step in efforts to restore peace and stability.

Uhuru is expected to convene the third session of Kiir and Machar's face-to-face negotiations during which implementation mechanisms of the peace accord are to be agreed upon.

Earlier, Foreign Affairs CS Monica Juma last month said the prolonged political conflict has made Kenya feel frustrated following the deaths and displacement of thousands of people.

Juma said it is disheartening that South Sudan is not taking the trajectory of development as expected after attaining independence in 2011.

"This was the newest country; it had a lot of expectations after struggling for a very long time. The war is devastating. The level of humanitarian crisis is serious."