South Sudan ignored war pact, says CS Monica Juma

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma (left) receives Captain Pius Frank Njoroge and his co-pilot Kennedy Shamalla (not in the frame) at Wilson Airport, Nairobi, on February 20, 2018. They were freed after being detained by rebels in South Sudan. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The conflict-prone areas mentioned in the advisory include Bieh, Latjoor, Akobo, Jonglei, Northern Liech states, parts of Maiwut, Eastern Nile and Boma states and Yei River State.
  • The travel advisory issued on Wednesday applies to parts of the oil-rich Greater Upper Nile Region which has been a battlefield for several years between government forces and rebels allied to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition.

Failure to honour a ceasefire agreement signed by South Sudan’s government and rebel groups to end a four-year civil war last December forced Kenya to issue a travel advisory to parts of the nation last week.

In an exclusive interview published in the current issue of the EastAfrican, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma said the decision to warn Kenyans not to travel to certain areas in the country was informed by the fact that Kenya’s efforts in spearheading peace were not being taken seriously.

The travel advisory issued on Wednesday applies to parts of the oil-rich Greater Upper Nile Region which has been a battlefield for several years between government forces and rebels allied to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition.

PEACE PROCESS

The conflict-prone areas mentioned in the advisory include Bieh, Latjoor, Akobo, Jonglei, Northern Liech states, parts of Maiwut, Eastern Nile and Boma states and Yei River State.

“We were the guarantors of the peace process of South Sudan and we have continued to help that country stabilise. Even the agreement that arose out of the negotiations after the conflict in 2016, we were quite central in pushing the parties to sign this agreement. And we remain seized of it.

“We have expressed our deep disappointment, particularly because of the role that Kenya has been playing in trying to resolve the conflict in South Sudan,” the CS said in the interview.

RESOLVE CONFLICT

Ms Juma also said a travel advisory by the UK to Kenya was in bad taste.

"We have told them that we do not agree with the assessment they have made because you cannot say: ‘There was a foiled attack, therefore, there’s a problem.” It just seems illogical to a certain extent,” she told the paper. “We have a broad security cooperation framework and some of these discussions we are carrying out with them so that they do not aid the appetite of terrorism by hurting us,” the CS said.

The CS also spoke about the President’s directive to allow Africans visiting Kenya to acquire a visa on arrival, the long-standing visa problems between Kenya and South Africa, and the position on the International Criminal Court among others.