Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni visited Juba, Thursday to show support for the South Sudan National Dialogue initiative spearheaded by President Salva Kiir, and to discuss trade and investment.

Upon arrival at Juba International Airport, President Museveni said he supports a return to total peace in South Sudan. He appealed to all South Sudanese to embrace dialogue so as to prepare grounds for elections in 2018.

Museveni said the people of South Sudan should be given back their ‘power’ to chose leaders, so that the country regains it sovereignty.

“I would appeal to the Transitional Government and all the other stakeholders  to stop all actions involving insecurity, so that the people focus on elections as soon as possible,” said Museveni.

He also said preparations for a ‘free and fair’ elections should to be discussed early by all stakeholders.

“All fighting should stop so that the people of South Sudan regain their power, because right now they don’t have power…the power is with people with guns,” he added.

For his part, President Salva Kiir said the visit by President Museveni provides moral for his government to move forward with implementing peace.

” He [Museveni] has a very rich experience that we can gain from him. We will take all the advice he has given to me, and we will do with it,” said Kiir.

President Kiir added that several issues of bilateral relations between the two countries were discussed

According to the Presidential Press Secretary, Ateny Wek Ateny, who spoke earlier before the meeting, the two leaders were to also discuss claims of Ugandan traders of unpaid dues.

In September, Uganda’s Minister for Planning, David Buhati, said his government had agreed to pay 41-million US dollars on behalf of South Sudan to 22 Ugandan companies.

The companies claimed they supplied goods and services to the government of South Sudan but were not paid due to outbreak of conflict in December 2013.

According to Uganda’s New Vision website, David Bahati, Uganda’s state minister for finance in charge of planning, who accompanied President Museveni to Juba, said the governments of the two countries have agreed on a mode of payment for Ugandan traders who supplied South Sudan with food items between 2008 and 2010.

The agreement is said to have been struck after a sideline meeting with the South Sudan Finance Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau. The details, Bahati said, would be communicated to the responsible parties. He was joined in the discussion by Anite Among, the Bukedea Woman MP, who also sits on the Finance Committee of Parliament and Apollo Nyegamehe, a member of the Uganda Grain Council, representing traders.

Other issues include the provision of join police patrol along the Nimule – Juba Highway which was earlier agreed by the two countries Inspectors of Police.

Additional information: Mabior Philip, Daniel Danis

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