Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa arrives in Juba South Sudan

Juba - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has today, Monday 01 June 2015 arrived in Juba South Sudan from Nairobi, Kenya as part of ongoing regional efforts to facilitate peace and stability in South Sudan and to end the war.

Deputy President Ramaphosa, jointly with Abdurahman Kinana, the Secretary-General of Tanzania’s ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi, is leading a delegation of Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) -Former Detainees back home after an absence from December 2013.

During his visit to Juba, Deputy President Ramaphosa is expected among others to pay a courtesy call on South Sudanese President Salva Kirr and hold meetings with members of the SPLM Politburo.

The visit to South Sudan by Deputy President Ramaphosa comes against the background of regional efforts aimed at cementing lasting peace in South Sudan and consolidating gains made with the signing of the Reunification Agreement in Arusha, Tanzania early this year.

The Reunification Agreement was signed by the various factions of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) and is aimed at addressing political, organisational and leadership issues, the source of political crisis in the SPLM and conflict in South Sudan.

The visit to South Sudan is a result of decisions of a meeting held in Pretoria in April this year, hosted by Deputy President Ramaphosa with representatives of SPLM (Juba) and SPLM (Former Detainees), in which consensus was reached on how best to strengthen and implement the Reunification Agreement.

The meeting also impressed upon all SPLM factions present to remain focussed on the reunification of the SPLM as a means to unite South Sudan and end the war.

Deputy President Ramaphosa is expected to return to South Africa tomorrow, Tuesday 2 June 2015

For more information contact Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853.

Issued by: The Presidency

Pretoria