The Executive Director for Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Edmund Yakani has urged political leaders across South Sudan to stop discrediting the ongoing Nairobi peace talks, being attended by the government delegation and hold-out opposition groups.                                                                                                         

 “We have seen some political leaders already making statement that undermine or build spirit of doubt on the Tumaini initiative, we are almost towards the finishing line, we are not replacing the 2018 Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS) or undermining it,” said Yakani in an interview with the Juba Echo by phone on Sunday.

“The process is focusing at reaching political framework that is implementable in a genuine and timely manner,” he disclosed.

Yakani is among civil society representatives attending the talks that commenced since May 3,2024.

The talks are being mediated by the Kenyan government on the invitation of President Salva Kiir Mayardit.

Yakani appealed to political elites to support the Nairobi peace process in order to transition the country toward peace and stability.

The opposition parties at the Nairobi peace talks include Real Sudan People’s Liberation Movement led by Pagan Amum, the South Sudan United Front under Paul Malong Awan, South Sudan People’s Movement led by Gen. Stephen Buay Rolnyang and a splinter faction of the National Salvation Front (NAS).