South Sudan envoy cautions on Ruto, DP rift

Envoy Albino Mathom Ayuel Aboug. [File, Standard]

Kenyan youths have been urged to guard against those who attempt to hijack their public pressure movement.

President Salva Kiir's special envoy, Albino Mathom Ayuel Aboug also said the apparent rift between President William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua is bad for the country.

During an interview at Spice FM's Situation Room on Friday morning, Aboug highlighted South Sudan's war as a lesson that Kenya must situations that can land it in chaos.

"It (the war in South Sudan) started the way it started here in Kenya - when the President and the Vice President have issues. Salva Kiir and Riek Machar had political disagreements, and Salva Kiir dismissed his deputy and Machar went outside the group and started an uprising against the system," said Aboug, who heads the South Sudan's government's delegation in the ongoing peace talks in Nairobi.

"Since then it has been on and off," the envoy added about the conflict in the East African nation since President Kiir's and Machar's fallout in 2013.

Ruto allies and Gachagua have been trading accusations for months, with the latter accusing the President's friends of undermining him.

Recently, the Deputy President claimed the intelligence services plotted to frame him for the youth uprising in the country.

Aboug urged Kenyan youth to stay vigilant, cautioning that selfish interests may take advantage of their protests.

The youth have opposed the formation of a "broad-based" government, which they see as benefiting a few at the expense of the majority.

Aboug pointed out instances in his country and other nations where popular uprisings were hijacked by military and foreign interests.

"It starts with goodwill like it has in Kenya but somehow somewhere, someone is taking advantage. (In Sudan) the military came in and refused to hand over power," he said in reference to the uprising that forced President Omar al-Bashir out power in Sudan, and the Arab Spring which handed power to the military in Egypt.

The South Sudan envoy said foreign powers can also hijack such popular revolts to advance their interests.

President Ruto has urged the youth to give room to dialogue, cautioning that conflict can be endless.

"It is better to have a feast than to have a war in a country," the special envoy added, adding that it is necessary to guard Kenya's stability and freedoms for the region's sake.

"My father grew up in the war... I was born in the war, grew up in it and I am likely to die in the conflict... We love Kenya... Don't mess that freedom for us."