On 30 July 2025, the former minister for defense as well as chairperson of the government delegation to the High-level Mediation for South Sudan, alias Tumaini Initiative, General Kuol Manyang Juuk, declared in a rare interview with Eye Radio that the Tumaini Initiative was dead for reasons best known to him.
Apparently, the government made this annoying announcement because it had already achieved the foundational objectives of the Tumaini Initiative. And since they had attained the political objectives for which the Tumaini Peace Initiative was coined and constituted, the government saw it fit to abandon the Kenya-led process prematurely.
The French thinker and philosopher Voltaire said, “Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.” Those who want to know the undisclosed objectives of the Tumaini Initiative must go back down memory lane.
In doing so, they should ask: What were the pressing political issues that necessitated the idea and initiation of the Tumaini Initiative? If you recall, the government was grappling with two fundamental issues at the time. One was the challenge of extending the 2018 agreement, and another was the general election scheduled for December 2024, not forgetting the economic-related problems.
These were the fundamental issues that warranted the government to request Kenyan President Dr. William Ruto to bring holdout opposition groups to the negotiation table. The government wanted the Tumaini Initiative to sanitize their system by giving it a mandate with support from the international community.
Unlike previous peace initiatives held in Rome, Khartoum, and Addis Ababa, the Tumaini Peace Initiative was not born out of external pressure. The idea of the Tumaini Initiative emanated from South Sudan, except for the name, which I heard was given by President Dr. William Ruto.
In other words, the Tumaini Initiative is South Sudan’s concept that was sold and accepted by peace-loving friends, for example, Kenya and the like.
Procedurally, when you look at the steps and ways in which the Tumaini Initiative was started, you could not believe that the government delegation would be the first to give excuses before running away. The government owns the Tumaini Peace Initiative for a number of reasons.
Apart from the fact that the government came up with the idea, they even chose the mediator. You remember the other opposition leaders, like General Thomas Cirilo of the National Salvation Front (NAS), refrained from the Tumaini Initiative not just because of alleged fear of abduction but because of the government’s monopoly in the Tumaini talks.
In May 2025, when General Stephen Buay Rolnyang raised security concerns, a petition was filed for the venue to be changed from Nairobi to Addis Ababa. This move was taken so that other opposition leaders could partake and participate without worry. The government initiated the Tumaini Peace Initiative with a lot of excitement and enthusiasm.
At the onset of the process, they gathered and gained enough momentum during the peace negotiations until around August 2024, when they started changing the goalposts. Unfortunately, their act of running away from the Tumaini Initiative at the eleventh hour is akin to somebody running from his own shadow.
In addition, it exposes the government’s handlers as political liars, not just to South Sudanese but also to the international community. We have learned and understood that the Tumaini Peace Initiative was a political painkiller whose purpose was to relieve and rescue the government of the burdens posed on it by the slow implementation of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
Initially, the government came up with the idea of the Tumaini Initiative to achieve the following, inter alia: one, they wanted to use the Tumaini Initiative as an instrument to legitimize the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU), whose mandate was ending by February 2024.
Furthermore, they intended to use the Tumaini Initiative as a means to solicit funds to conduct a sham election, which they later postponed unilaterally. At some point, when the negotiations got tougher, contrary to their expectations, they started exploring political alternatives outside the Tumaini Initiative.
In light of that, the government took advantage of the raging conflicts in the region, which took away the attention of the international community from South Sudan. For instance, the crises in countries like Sudan, Palestine, Russia, and Iran have diverted the focus of the international community, thus leaving South Sudan to conduct its murky and muddy politics alone.
We are aware that the endless crises in South Sudan have caused political fatigue among peace guarantors. In mid-2024, the government tested the waters by passing into law the National Security Amendment Bill, with two controversial Articles (54 and 55), which give power to security agencies to arrest without a warrant.
Second, the RTGoNU extended the government for about 24 months without the participation and approval of parliament and civil society stakeholders. Of course, the 24-month extension of the de facto government automatically postponed the 2024 election.
When all these irregular activities were undertaken without an iota of condemnation or action from the international community, the regime declared the game over. In November 2024, the second government delegation came to the venue of the Tumaini Initiative with confidence, for they knew that they had sorted the hurdles of extension and election, which prompted the idea of the Tumaini Initiative.
So, their second delegation arrived for the Tumaini Initiative resumption while having in mind the intention to cause the talks to collapse once and for all.
Ultimately, when they returned to Juba after abandoning the Tumaini Initiative, they hatched another plan to destroy the R-ARCSS.
As we converse here and now, there is nothing to smile about in South Sudan. In other words, there is no hope left except the same Tumaini Initiative. There is a wise saying: “When we stop talking, we start fighting.”
The country of South Sudan is in a war mood. At times, war is said to be the last option. However, there are many options that we can explore before we resort to the last and final option of all-out war.
South Sudan Needs to Recycle Tumaini Peace Initiative
When you compare South Sudan in 2023, when the Tumaini Initiative was started, and South Sudan in 2025, when the Tumaini Initiative was declared dead, you will find that the political situations in 2025 are getting worse.
At least in 2023, there was calm and stability because the R-ARCSS was seen to be working a bit, unlike in 2025, when the R-ARCSS is being violated randomly. The recent arrest and detention of the First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar, and his party officials is a case in point. Frankly speaking, there is no peace in South Sudan.
At the moment, what South Sudan has is anarchy and lawlessness. The current situation in South Sudan is characterized by total disregard for human rights and the rule of law. In addition, there is biting hunger due to the displacement of the population, there is no freedom of the press, and there is no political space in the country.
Evidently, on 6 August 2025, Western and other embassies raised an alarm about the escalating armed conflict in most parts of the country. The ideal solutions to the prevailing challenges lie in dialogue, not war, among stakeholders. Therefore, the Tumaini Initiative should be recycled and reprocessed as soon as possible.
On 4 November 2024, the IGAD executive secretary stated that South Sudan cannot apply the letter “R” in the alphabet after using it for “Revitalization” and “Resumption” in 2018 and 2024, respectively. Nonetheless, the letter “R” in the alphabet can be reused for a third time or more.
In fact, the letter “R” is unlimited. In view of the foregoing, there are three main reasons why South Sudan should recycle the Tumaini Initiative.
One, war is not the only available option left so far.
Two, South Sudan desires and deserves to renew its hope for sustainable peace.
Three, South Sudanese still believe that Kenya is the neutral peace arbiter by the status of General Lazarus Sumbeiywo, owing to his historical contribution to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that brought our country’s independence to fruition.
Finally, the proposal to recycle and reprocess the Tumaini Initiative can provide South Sudan with an opportunity to transform the Tumaini Initiative into a national conversation where all stakeholders are invited and included, regardless of their regions and political affiliations.
The writer, Dak Buoth Riek Gak, is a lawyer, criminologist, and former delegate to the High-Level Mediation for South Sudan, alias Tumaini Peace Initiative, where he represented the South Sudan People’s Movement (SSPM) as its National Chairperson for Legal and Constitutional Affairs. He was the former chairperson of the South Sudan Liech Community and former chairperson of the South Sudan Students Association in Kenya. He can be reached for comments via eligodakb@yahoo.com.
The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.