By Matik Kueth
The Central Equatoria State government called for the immediate withdrawal of Ugandan forces allegedly deployed on the territory of Kajo-Keji County, warning that the encroachment risks reigniting border tensions that have long troubled the frontier communities.
The call comes on Tuesday during a State Security Committee meeting held in Rajaf Payam, Juba County, chaired by Governor Rabi Mujung Emmanuel.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Leon Abe Brown, Minister of Local Government and Law Enforcement, said reports of new Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) positions inside South Sudan have alarmed local authorities and displaced residents who had only recently begun returning home after years of instability.
“The Security Committee is calling upon the UPDF to vacate our territories in Kajo-Keji County and give space to our people during this cultivation season. We want our displaced residents to return home, farm, and rebuild their lives in peace,” Brown said.
He emphasized that no foreign troops should operate on South Sudanese soil without formal consent or coordination with national authorities.
“We appeal to our sisterly nation, Uganda, to urgently review this situation and ensure their forces withdraw from our side of the border in line with international norms and respect for sovereignty,” he added.
A fragile frontier
The Kajo-Keji border, separating South Sudan’s Central Equatoria State from Uganda’s Moyo District, has long been a flashpoint of land disputes, cross-border raids, and security misunderstandings.
In recent years, community clashes over farmland and administrative boundaries have occasionally escalated into armed standoffs between security forces on both sides.
The latest reports suggest that the UPDF has erected new positions deep inside Kajo-Keji, a move residents fear could trigger new tensions.
Diplomacy over confrontation
Brown noted that the state government is engaging national institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, to resolve the matter through peaceful channels.
“This is a brotherly issue between two neighboring nations that have shared blood, trade, and culture. We believe dialogue will prevail over confrontation,” he stressed.
Uganda and South Sudan share a long and porous border stretching across Central and Eastern Equatoria, where historical, cultural, and trade ties run deep.
However, the boundary has never been fully demarcated since South Sudan gained independence in 2011, leaving several contested areas, especially in Kajo-Keji, Moyo, and Magwi, vulnerable to periodic incursions and misunderstandings.
The Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) previously operated inside South Sudan under bilateral security arrangements to help contain rebel movements and cross-border insecurity, particularly during the civil war years between 2013 and 2018.
While those deployments were largely coordinated with Juba at the time, local leaders in border counties have repeatedly accused Ugandan troops of overstaying or expanding beyond agreed zones.
Efforts to resolve these tensions through a Joint Border Demarcation Commission, established in 2019, have faced delays due to logistical and political challenges.
Occasional flare-ups, including the 2020 standoff in Kajo-Keji and earlier disputes in Moyo, underscored the fragility of relations on the border.