Raila travels to Juba to mediate South Sudan crisis

ODM leader Raila Odinga in Migori on February 27, 2025. [Caleb Kingwara, Standard]

Kenya’s special envoy to South Sudan, Raila Odinga, has arrived in Juba to mediate the escalating political crisis.

Odinga left Nairobi on Friday morning and landed in Juba at midday, a spokesperson confirmed to AFP.

He traveled at the request of President William Ruto to deliver a message to South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar.

“President William Ruto, who is also the chair of the East African Community, has requested former PM Raila Odinga to be his special envoy to South Sudan.”

“The envoy is presently engaged with the escalating situation in our sisterly country including traveling to Juba to convey the President’s message to President Kiir and VP Machar as well as to critical stakeholders in Juba,” Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei said on Friday.

Kenya announced on Thursday, March 27, that it would send a special envoy to South Sudan to help ease growing tensions between Kiir and Machar.

On Wednesday night, Machar was reportedly placed under house arrest. According to AFP, a convoy of 20 heavily armed vehicles entered his residence in Juba and detained him, a move his party condemned as a major escalation of the political standoff.

South Sudan’s opposition said Machar’s detention undermined the 2018 peace deal and could plunge the country back into civil war.

Many of his allies have also been arrested in recent weeks and held incommunicado.

Several Western embassies, including those of the UK, Germany, Norway, and the US, condemned the arrest, warning that it risks fueling fresh conflict.

The UK government on Thursday advised its citizens to leave South Sudan immediately, warning that evacuation could not be guaranteed if the situation deteriorates.

The United States and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) joined calls for a ceasefire and urgent dialogue between Kiir and Machar.