President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to travel to Adis Ababa, Ethiopia on Thursday to attend a regional meeting on ongoing efforts to restore peace in South Sudan.
In a press briefing, Deputy State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena mentioned that the meeting will be attended by leaders from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to review the progress made in the South Sudan peace process.
Emphasising on President Kenyatta's commitment to the peace in S.Sudan, Kanze noted: "Regional security remains an important factor to our national peace and development.
"In the continued search for peace and stability for our northern neighbor, Kenya will continue to support the IGAD-led process on South Sudan,” Dena added.
[caption caption="State House Deputy Spokesperson Kanze Dena during a press briefing"][/caption]
Uhuru, who is IGAD's special rapporteur for South Sudan, will be among other leaders who have been keen on supporting the ongoing peace process in the neighbouring country.
The meeting comes amidst renewed efforts to bring warring factions President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar together.
Kiir and Machar were poised to meet in Adis Ababa on Wednesday to negotiate a deal that would see an end to the civil war that broke out in 2013.
The meeting between the two leaders will be the first between the duo since a peace deal between the government and Machar’s rebel group fell apart in August 2016.
Confirming Machar's arrival in Adis Ababa, his spokesman Lam Paul Gabriel told an international media: "Yes, I can confirm to you that our chairman has arrived in Addis Ababa airport this morning."
The top IGAD leaders will be meeting at a time when the United States has piled pressure on the region asking respective governments to crack down on South Sudan elite investing ill-acquired wealth in the region.
“I wanna be very clear, those who profit from human rights violations and corruption, preying on the poor and innocent and mothers and children, must heed our warning,” Sigal Mandelker, the US Treasury’s under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence told a press conference in Nairobi on Wednesday last week.
[caption caption="President Salva Kiir and his former Vice President Riek Machar discuss the prospects for peace and reconciliation in South Sudan"][/caption]