South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"

By Jenifer James
The Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organisation (CEPO), Edmund Yakani, has emphasised the urgent need for compromise in the upcoming round of the Tumaini Peace Initiative in Kenya.
This comes after the president announced the resumption of the peace talks on January 6, 2024.
“We call on the government and the opposition in Nairobi to prioritise the interests of citizens over their ambitions for power. The success of Tumaini requires essential compromises from all parties,” said Yakani.
Yakani urged leaders to focus on meaningful peace mediation efforts that genuinely benefit the population, rather than using these processes as a pathway to consolidate or gain power.
He appealed to both the government and the opposition to abandon rigidity, intolerance, and immaturity in their engagement, adding that the initiative risks failure if such attitudes persist.
Yakani specifically called for a commitment to key reforms and preparations to ensure the country transitions effectively toward elections scheduled for December 2026.
He said there are several critical priorities, which include unifying forces and undertaking judicial and transitional justice reforms and advancing the constitutional-making process with sufficient funding.
Yakani urged the presidency to fulfil these requirements by October 2025, creating favourable conditions for the 2026 elections. He further appealed for a separation of the population census and constitutional-making process from the electoral timeline to prevent politicisation and ensure transparency.
He commended the recent declaration in Juba, which saw political parties, media, and civil society agree on the need for opening civic and political space.
Yakani also stressed the importance of honouring this agreement to facilitate free and fair elections.
In addition, he highlighted the urgent need for practical steps to address civil servants’ salary arrears and ensure regular payments moving forward, and called on the council of ministers to adopt a clear plan to resolve this issue, as it directly impacts governance and public trust.
“We respect and honour your role, but we urge you to make bold political decisions for the greater good of the nation. Only through compromise and decisive action can we build a peaceful and prosperous future for all,” said Yakani.
The Tumaini Peace Initiative in Nairobi, Kenya commenced on May 9, 2024 and is being attended by the South Sudan government and non-signatory parties to the 2018 revitalized peace agreement.