Nairobi peace talks offer last window for concrete silencing of the guns

The peace talks set to start soon in the Kenyan capital, between the transitional unity governments and hold-out opposition groups that refused to sign the 2018 revitalized peace agreement offer the last chance for peace.

The only disappointment is that the National Salvation Front (NAS) led by the former deputy chief of staff for logistics in the South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF), Thomas Cirilo Swaka is missing from the talks.

NAS has remained a major problem especially in Central Equatoria State; it would have been wise to persuade NAS to be part of this process that is set to be mediated by the Kenyan government.

It could be that NAS aware of the past mistakes committed by security intelligence operatives in Nairobi could have chickened out due to lack of security guarantees.

The abduction of critics of the regime in Juba over the past years, under the watch of the Kenyan intelligence is one of the key things that have dissuaded many opposition groups from taking part in the upcoming peace talks.

The government should think deeply about NAS being absent on the negotiating table.