Four Kenyans jailed in South Sudan since 2015 are set to be released.
Foreign Affairs PS Monicah Juma left the country on Tuesday where she is set to secure their release.
She was accompanied by a delegation from Office of the President, National Intelligence Service and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This follows bilateral talks between President Uhuru Kenyatta has his South Sudan counterpart Salver Kiir. The office of the President has confirmed this.
The two heads of state held the talks after Tuesday’s inauguration of Uhuru and his Deputy William Ruto.
However, it is not yet clear if the four Kenyans, Anthony Keya, Boniface Muriuki, Ravi Ghaghda and Anthony Mwadime will be tried afresh in Kenya once they are released.
The four were arrested alongside 12 other South Sudanese national for suspected fraud of Sh1.4 billion ($14 million) from President Salva Kiir’s office.
This was on May 29, 2015. They were incarcerated for 40 days with no interrogation.
After trial, they were handed a 72-year jail sentence each. They however, lodged an appeal with Juba’s High Court.
The four Kenyans were employees of Juba-based Click Technologies which dealt in graphic design, sales and computer repairs.
After their arrest, they were not allowed to contact their families back in the country.
Their families have severally petitioned the Foreign Affairs ministry to secure their release.
At some point, they accused the ministry of laxity.
But Foreign Affairs CS Ambassador Amina Mohammed refuted these claims saying they are working tirelessly towards securing their release.
“It is not true that the [South Sudan four] have been ignored,” her ministry said in a tweet.