Motion on South Sudan mission withdrawn

National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale. He is expected to make a major announcement on his political future. FILE PHOTO |

What you need to know:

  • Kenya already has 1,159 troops in UNMISS but their mandate does not allow them to enter combat.
  • Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed said leaders in the region will have to discuss the possibility of gradually sending troops.

A motion was withdrawn Tuesday evening seeking approval of the deployment of forces to South Sudan.

This came after the troubled country called for a meeting of regional military heads on how many soldiers are to be sent to Juba.

On Tuesday, National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, who had transmitted the request to discuss the motion on Thursday, withdrew it. It had been scheduled as the House’s first agenda, signalling its urgency.

“There are still high-level discussions going on and we haven’t decided the actual number of troops we are going to send. We are discussing with Igad (Intergovernmental Authority on Development),” said Mr Duale.

But South Sudan government had been lobbying neighbours to postpone any approvals for troops until chiefs of defence forces agree on what the soldiers will or will not do once in Juba.

“It’s important that Kenya doesn’t rush into approving the deployment of forces because we still have many issues which we have questioned and which are still open for debate,” said Mr Jimmy Makuach, South Sudan’s Deputy ambassador adding that they need time to discuss with the UN.

Kenya already has 1,159 troops in UNMISS but their mandate does not allow them to enter combat, a weakness humanitarian groups say meant the peacekeepers could not protect civilians.

But Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed said leaders in the region will have to discuss the possibility of gradually sending troops, rather than deploying them en masse.
“In terms of when we should be there, I think soon rather than later,” she argued at a joint media briefing with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday.

Mr Kerry met with foreign ministers from Igad.