Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. | FILE/OPCS

Kenyan President William Ruto has appointed former Prime Minister Raila Odinga as a special envoy to South Sudan, where he is expected to arrive today in an effort to avert another civil war in the country.

Ruto’s decision to send Odinga follows a phone conversation he had with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir on Thursday regarding the “arrest” of his deputy, Dr. Riek Machar.

“I had a phone call with President Salva Kiir on the situation leading to the arrest and detention of 1st Vice President Riek Machar in South Sudan. After consultations with President Museveni and Prime Minister Abiy, I’m sending a special envoy to South Sudan to engage, try to de-escalate, and brief us back,” President Ruto said in a post on X.

The Kenyan leader also mentioned that he would send an envoy to Juba to engage the relevant parties in efforts to de-escalate the situation.

According to SPLM-IO Deputy Chairperson Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, Machar was placed under house arrest on Wednesday after a convoy of security vehicles entered his residence, disarmed his guards, and detained him late in the evening.

Odinga is expected to depart on Friday as part of efforts to prevent a full-scale civil war in South Sudan.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which facilitated the 2018 peace agreement, warned that the current situation in South Sudan, if left unchecked, could lead to the collapse of the transitional process and a relapse into full-scale war, with devastating consequences for the people of South Sudan and the broader region.