President Museveni has this afternoon left Uganda.
Museveni arrived in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and is in the Horn of Africa nation for the 31st Extraordinary Summit of IGAD Heads of State. He joins Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, and Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed of Somalia.
Museveni’s Senior Presidential Press Secretary Don Wanyama said upon arrival, he met host Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn for a bilateral discussion.
The summit will focus on the situation in South Sudan, mainly how to resolve the political issues and humanitarian crisis.
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir will not attend regional bloc’s (IGAD) summit. “There are no reasons, but the president is attending to other things here in South Sudan. The team that will represent the president has not yet been formed,”said the spokesperson for South Sudan presidency, Ateny Wek Ateny.
Several military and government officials attributed Kiir’s change of mind to advice from security and the Jieng Council of Elders (JCE), who reportedly think regional leaders may force Kiir to make concessions in favour of armed opposition forces.
Others claim the main reason for the president’s absence stems from fears that he could be blocked from returning to the country since the army is divided after he sacked the army chief of general staff, Paul Malong Awan from his post in May.
There are also concerns from the leadership on why the summit was called at the time when the armed opposition forces have stepped up their activities in the region.
South Sudan descended into civil war after President Kiir fired Riek Machar as vice president in 2013. A peace deal signed in 2015 is yet to be fully implemented.
