Kenya is gearing up to send four police specialists to South Sudan as part of the United Nations peacekeeping mission, hours after reports of an alleged arrest of the country’s vice president.
According to a statement from the National Police Service (NPS), the Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, briefed the four officers to be deployed with the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
UNMISS is a peacekeeping operation established in July 2011 to support the world’s youngest nation, South Sudan, after it gained independence from Sudan. The mission on Monday issued a warning of full-blown civil wars.
NPS said the four Kenyan officers are drawn from Kenya Police Service (KPS), Administration Police Service (APS), and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and are expected to serve within the mission for 12 months.
According to the NPS, the four will be part of a specialised police team that has an anti-cattle raiding component.
“Their mission is to undertake specialised duties in support of peacekeeping efforts, aligning with international policing standards,” reads part of the statement from NPS.
Adding, “These officers will join others deployed in the mission area, reinforcing Kenya’s contribution to regional security and stability.”
Kenya is one of the countries that often faces an influx of refugees every time hostilities in South Sudan flare up. Already, violence has escalated over the last month, with forces allied to the First Vice President Riek Machar and South Sudanese President Salva Kiir renewing hostilities.
Reports from South Sudan indicate the government of Kiir ordered the arrest of Machar and has placed him under house arrest, a move that has the international community concerned.
According to Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLM-IO) party, a convoy consisting of 20 heavily armed vehicles reportedly stormed the residence of South Sudan's first vice president in Juba, where they disarmed his security personnel.
In response, the US has requested his release, saying the move risks escalating the hostilities even further.
The Kenyan government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, “All parties in South Sudan should prioritise peace in the country by giving room to the ongoing peace agreements under the auspices of IGAD.”
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavad added, “We urge all the leaders in South Sudan to exercise utmost restraint, cease hostilities, and uphold the Revitalized Peace Agreement in the best interests of millions of their people.”
It is unclear where the world’s youngest nation heads from here, but with Uganda already in the middle of the fray, the conflict risks escalating.
