On February 22, 2020, the president of South Sudan Salva Kiir signed a peace deal with former rebel leader Riek Machar that would see them share power.
This ended a protracted seven-year civil strife leading to the death of tens of thousands and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, who was appointed special envoy to South Sudan by President Uhuru Kenyatta in November 2018, spearheaded the peace process.
In a brief interview with the Daily Nation published on Monday, February 24, Kalonzo shed light on the intense negotiation process that had collapsed several times before finally coming to fruition.
"I was aware of the issues defining the standoff and I took up the work, determined to finally get the two parties to agree and end the conflict," he stated.
Kalonzo told the publication that at the beginning of the negotiation process, he had to shuttle between Juba where Kiir was and Khartoum where Machar was, to hold separate talks and at the same time report to Museveni and Uhuru on the progress.
While he stated that things were not easy given the long-standing animosity between the two leaders, Museveni played a key role in solving issues that needed ironing out before Machar and Kiir could hold a face-to-face meeting.
"The integration of security forces, security arrangements in Juba and the politically sensitive process of determining internal state boundaries were the thorny issue, which we navigated under the leadership of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni," he stated.
Reports further indicate that when the two South Sudanese leaders heard that Kalonzo was the one appointed to lead the peace negotiations, they immediately expressed their confidence in his capacity.
Kalonzo had worked with the two leaders before to implement a 2005 peace pact and also during the 2011 referendum that saw South Sudan gain independence from Sudan.
"Musyoka is a very diligent leader, who is well-informed about South Sudan issues, and the problem the young country is facing. So he is the perfect diplomat for the peace process," Kiir stated when Musyoka was appointed in 2018.
Uhuru is reported to have considered Kalonzo for the job given his stint as a foreign affairs minister and also his previous experience in solving conflicts in the Sudanese region.
Kalonzo headed the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) on peace in South Sudan, the body charged with ensuring that the two leaders came together.
