President William Ruto has appointed former Prime Minister Raila Odinga as Kenya’s special envoy to South Sudan, as tensions escalate following the arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar and his wife, Interior Minister Angelina Teny.
Odinga’s spokesperson, Dennis Onyango, confirmed that the opposition leader would travel to Juba on Friday.
The move comes after Ruto, who chairs the East African Community (EAC), held discussions with South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir regarding Machar’s detention.
“President Ruto, who is also the chair of the East African Community, has requested Raila to be his special envoy to South Sudan. The Special Envoy is presently engaged with the escalating situation in our sisterly country, including traveling to Juba to convey the President’s message to President Kiir and Machar as well as to critical stakeholders,” said Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs Korir Sing’Oei.
Ruto has also engaged Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, whose government recently deployed troops to South Sudan to help secure the capital. Additionally, the Kenyan leader consulted Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, whose country has previously hosted peace talks for South Sudan.
“Had a phone call with President Salva Kiir on the situation leading to the arrest and detention of First Vice President Riek Machar in South Sudan. After consultations with President Museveni and PM Abiy, I’m sending a special envoy to South Sudan to engage, try to de-escalate, and brief us back,” Ruto stated on Thursday.
The crisis in South Sudan has deepened in recent months, raising fears of renewed violence. On Tuesday, Ruto also held talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss regional security and ongoing efforts to stabilize South Sudan.
Machar has been under house arrest in Juba since Wednesday, a move his party says violates the fragile 2018 peace deal that ended South Sudan’s five-year civil war. The agreement, which saw Machar and Kiir enter a power-sharing government, has faced repeated delays in implementing key provisions such as national elections and the unification of armed forces.
The UN has expressed concern over the latest developments, with a spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning that Machar’s detention “takes the country one step closer to the edge of collapse into civil war.”
The South Sudanese government accuses Machar’s faction of supporting the White Army, an ethnic militia that recently clashed with government forces in Nasir, further escalating tensions. In response, Kiir’s forces have arrested several of Machar’s senior allies, including the petroleum minister and the deputy head of the army.
