Negotiators of the South Sudan peace process in Addis Ababa have adopted the Arusha Accord in a fresh bid to end the 17-month civil war.

The Accord — signed by those loyal to President Salva Kiir, former vice president and SPLM-IO head Riek Machar and party officials — seeks to reunite the three SPLM factions.

The adoption came as a result of diplomatic efforts by Kenyan and Ethiopian foreign ministers, plus mediators of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, who in the past week consulted President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and President Kiir.

The new arrangement gives 10 former detainees, who were released after President Kenyatta intervened, a major role in reconciling the warring factions.

READ: Kiir releases political detainees to Kenya

Five of the former detainees were scheduled to travel to Juba on June 1 for two-day consultations in a bid to reunite the three SPLM factions.

Former Cabinet Affairs minister Deng Alor will lead former Finance minister Kosti Manibe, former Justice minister John Luk, former Postal Services and Telecommunications minister Madut Biar, and Cirino Hiteng, a former minister for Culture, Youth and Sports.  

Dr Hiteng told The EastAfrican that the former detainees would work to narrow the gap between President Kiir and Dr Machar and hasten the implementation of the Arusha Accord and the Addis Ababa process.

“We have remained moderate and have not been an obstacle to the peace process,” said Dr Hiteng. He added that after Juba, the group would visit Pagak to deliver the same message to Dr Machar.

The five were set to leave for Juba, accompanied by South African Vice-President Cyrile Ramaphosa, Tanzania’s Chama Cha Mapinduzi Secretary-General Abdulrahman Kinana, Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed, and Ethiopian Minister for Foreign Affairs Tedros Adhamon.

President Kenyatta on May 29 met the 10 former SPLM officials and former detainees, representatives and guarantors of the Arusha Accord.

Those in the meeting were Mr Adhamon, who is the chairman of the Igad Council of Ministers, Ms Mohamed, Mr Kinana, representatives of Igad and two special envoys from South Africa, Reddy Mampane and Mandlenkosi Memela. 

Pagan Amum, the former SPLM secretary-general, said their first task was to unite the SPLM party and to deal with obstacles blocking the Igad process, which had not made significant progress because the South Sudanese leaders, including himself, had been stubborn.

The return — which is part of the reunification of the three SPLM factions as per the Arusha agreement signed in January — is seen as a major boost to President Kiir’s side after the government in March issued a decree of amnesty to all those in exile.

South Sudan Ambassador to Kenya Mariano Deng told The EastAfrican that the government had guaranteed the security of the former detainees based on the Constitution and had even allowed them a minimum of 60 soldiers from countries of their choice to witness their protection while on the ground.  

However, the rebels led by Dr Machar, said the former detainees were simply trying to gain relevance at a time when there was still increased fighting between the two warring sides.

The SPLM-IO representative in Kenya Adel Sandrai said the credibility of the former detainees was dented because the conflict was brought about by the mismanagement of institutions that the detainees were part of.

The former detainees — who were among 11 politicians arrested in December 2013 for disturbance, and charged with treason — have been in exile in Kenya for over a year.

The initial seven were released in late January 2014, with the remaining four released in April after the government dropped charges against them. The four are Mr Amum, former security minister Oyay Deng Ajak, former deputy defense minister Majok D’Agoot Atem, and former envoy for Southern Sudan to the United States, Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth.

The government maintains treason charges against Dr Machar, former governor of Unity state Taban Deng Gai and Alfred Ladu Gore, the former Environment minister, who are accused of being behind a coup on December 15, 2013.