CEPO Executive Director Edmund Yakani. (Photo: Awan Moses/Eye Radio).

Activist Edmund Yakani is calling on President Salva Kiir to swiftly appoint a head of government delegation to the Tumaini Initiative after Albino Mathom Ayuel was relieved on November 6.

Mr. Yakani made the suggestion after the South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance (SSOMA) reported the absence of government delegation at the resumption of the peace talks on Monday.

The Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) pointed out that the initiative’s framework, which includes nine protocols, is under threat due to debates about whether to renegotiate these protocols.

Mr.  Yakani, emphasized that any the upcoming team leader should be someone with a record of supporting, or at least not opposing the initiative to ensure smooth and effective leadership.

Yakani warned that further delays in appointing a replacement of the former lead-negotiator could hinder the progress of the Tumaini Initiative.

Mr. Yakani raised concerns regarding what he described as hardened political positions that some party members have taken ahead of the next phase of the Tumaini Initiative, which was scheduled for November 11, 2024.

He warned that opening these protocols to renegotiation would be a serious mistake, and would risk the initiative’s failure or beyond the planned two-week timeframe.

He called for a shift in political attitudes, and urge the leaders and parties to adopt a more genuine approach toward political transition for the success of the Tumaini Initiative.

“I would like this opportunity to express a point of disappointment and discouragement when we realize the government delegation has not reported to Nairobi to start phase two of the Tumaini mediation,” Yakani said.

Yakani said the government delegation might have delayed due to the dismissal of the head of delegation and his impending replacement.

‘With due respect and honor, we are appealing to his Excellency President Salva that there’s a need to add time to appoint a new head of delegation.”

On the 6th of November 2024, President Salva Kiir Mayardit issued a decree relieving his presidential special envoy and ambassador Albino Mathom Ayuel.

Mr. Mathom was appointed in January 2024 as head of the government’s negotiating team with the opposition groups who did not sign the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement.