Author: The South Sudan Herald

Security meeting in Juba Central Equatoria’s security committee, chaired by Governor Rabi Mujung Emmanuel, met in Rajaf on 28 October to review fresh reports of Ugandan troops inside Kajo-Keji. State Minister Leon Abe Brown later told journalists that the Uganda People’s Defence Force had entered South Sudanese farmland without coordination, unsettling residents preparing for cultivation. Call for Immediate Withdrawal Brown appealed to Kampala to pull its soldiers back across the border, arguing that their presence hinders displaced families from returning and violates the principle of territorial sovereignty. He said the harvest season offered a fragile chance for recovery, and claimed…

Lawmakers Assess Progress at Yambio Hospital A delegation from the Western Equatoria State parliament toured Yambio Hospital on Tuesday, checking whether last year’s recommendations had been met. Caucus leader Rafael Anthony Azaro noted slight gains yet flagged lingering drug gaps, staff shortages and salary arrears, promising a prompt report to the assembly and governor. Administration’s Daily Struggle for Supplies Hospital administrator John Peter Sangara detailed daily hurdles: shelves running low on antibiotics, nurses juggling double shifts and a generator that flickers during peak hours. “Our staff keep showing up despite months of delayed incentives,” Sangara said, stressing that inconsistent supplies…

Bird Swarms Devour Upper Nile Sorghum Across Manyo County in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State, millions of red-billed quelea sweep over sorghum plots, stripping grain heads within minutes and leaving stalks bare. Farmers report the birds arrived in dense waves shortly after germination, synchronising their appetite with the crop’s most vulnerable stage. Sorghum is the county’s dietary backbone and a hard-won cash earner; its decimation reverberates through household budgets and local markets. Flooded Fields Hamper Any Rescue The bird invasion coincides with the third consecutive season of flash floods, which have waterlogged fields, swept away bunds, and cut off farm…

Military Decree on Machetes The South Sudanese Chief of Defence Forces, General Paul Nang, has outlawed carrying machetes, locally called pangas, throughout Juba. He warns that anyone found with one without clear justification will face arrest and prosecution. Showcase of Seized Firearms Nang spoke during an exhibition where security agencies displayed more than 200 firearms collected in a recent citywide sweep. The display served as visual evidence of ongoing efforts to rid residential areas of lethal objects. Zero Tolerance Strategy Explained Calling machetes “the biggest security threat in the city,” the general instructed forces to treat violators as criminals intent…

UNDP Leads Transformational Leadership Workshop More than twenty women from Wau and Jur River counties wrapped up a two-day course in transformational leadership and peacebuilding on Wednesday, organisers confirmed. The session, hosted by UNDP with Juba University’s Institute for Transformation Leadership, sought to equip emerging female leaders with practical tools for conflict analysis and early-warning. Participants Craft Community Action Plans Facilitator Lucia Bassa said the trainees designed work plans tailored to local realities, integrating prevention of gender-based abuses with advocacy strategies. By mapping hotspots and communication channels, attendees rehearsed how to alert authorities before disputes escalate, a process one participant…

Women Vendors Decry Heavy Levies At a crowded training launch in Juba, Social Welfare Director Omar Sherif El Deen warned that rising municipal fees are choking the livelihoods of roadside tea sellers and market women. He urged city officials to rethink the current tariff schedule, calling it disproportionate for workers who often earn just enough to feed their households. Economic Ripple Effects on Families Many vendors, El Deen noted, are single parents sustaining extended relatives in rural areas. Any further squeeze could push entire families below the poverty line. Research by local NGOs shows that a small stall can support…

Grassroots Push for Rights Awareness Civil society organisations in South Sudan are rolling out intensive workshops that teach citizens how to recognise and claim their fundamental rights. The sessions, led by the Community Initiative Support Program and Hold the Child, blend legal literacy with storytelling to help communities convert principles into practical advocacy. Voices from the Workshop “It is a milestone,” declared Jacob Chol Atem, CISP’s executive director, stressing that a shared understanding of justice fuels equality and peace. Deng Jerboum Machuor of Hold the Child argued the training offers technical guidance on international law, equipping participants to safeguard lives…

Security Forces Reclassify Vigilantes South Sudan’s Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Dr. Paul Nang Majok, announced in Juba that the Red Belt vigilante network is now treated as a rebel organisation (The Dawn Newspaper, 29 Oct 2025). His declaration follows a week-long display of confiscated rifles, PKM machine guns and uniforms collected during a capital-wide search operation. From Market Patrols to Armed Raids The Red Belt began as community patrols in Jonglei State, but witnesses say its fighters recently stormed Marol market, robbed traders and exchanged fire with National Security Service officers. Members wear a green smock, army trousers and…

Checkpoint Drama on a Key Corridor Along the busy Juba–Bor highway, a brief but telling drama unfolded on Tuesday as South Sudan’s top brass moved to dismantle an unauthorized military checkpoint that had frustrated travelers and traders. Orders from the High Command Chief of Defence Forces Dr. Paul Nang, fresh from a weekend inspection, learned that a barrier he had ordered removed after the Mapau clash had quietly reappeared overnight. He immediately tasked Military Intelligence chief Lt-Gen Riak Ayuen and Operations deputy Lt-Gen Malual Majok to arrest every soldier involved in rebuilding the post, underscoring what officials call zero tolerance…

Rural Women at the Heart of New Enterprise Drive A month-long Women’s Livelihood Accelerated Training Program opened this week in Juba, promising 280 rural entrepreneurs the tools and capital to turn ideas into income. Run by peace-building NGO WHITAKER with Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation and Skinny Dipped backing, the initiative carries the banner ‘Empowering Rural Women through Training and Business Support’. Curriculum Blends Skills and Seed Capital Participants study business planning, marketing, budget control and proposal writing before pitching ventures to a grant committee. Those presenting viable concepts receive cash injections meant to launch or expand micro-enterprises in agriculture,…