Author: The South Sudan Herald

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,…

Sudanese Army Exit Reshapes El-Fasher General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan confirmed late Monday that the last Sudanese army units have left el-Fasher, their final bastion in Darfur, after Rapid Support Forces fighters overran the main headquarters the previous day (Al Jazeera, 28 Oct 2025). Al-Burhan said the withdrawal aims to shield residents from what he labelled RSF “systemic destruction” and promised to hold perpetrators accountable once conditions allow. His statement was broadcast from Port Sudan, where the army leadership has been based since 2023. Quarter-Million Civilians Face RSF Rule The United Nations estimates that more than 260,000 civilians—half of them children—were…

Rescued Children Face Lingering Trauma Across Jonglei State, families are celebrating unexpected reunions, yet many rescued boys and girls remain locked in painful memories. Months spent under captivity in Greater Pibor exposed youngsters to new languages, strict hierarchies and repeated uncertainty, leaving them anxious and withdrawn back home. Parents Struggle With Reintegration For farmer Biel Jal, reclaiming his 20-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter offered relief, but daily communication still falters. He describes evenings where siblings sit silently, translating borrowed words into Nuer before daring to speak to neighbours. Mother Kaka Jiek compares the task to raising newborns, noting that some…

Dialogue Reopens Lines of Trust in Torit County A one-day dialogue in Bur Payam, Torit County, has revived optimism that neighbours can again share roads, markets and water points without fear. Resident negotiators described the gathering as the first collective conversation since last year’s shootings. Security reports attribute recent tension to cattle raids, arson and roadside ambushes that claimed lives and uprooted households across Eastern Equatoria State. Women’s groups also flagged a surge in gender-based violence during the unrest. Youth at the Heart of the Rift Sub-chief Peter Ogugu Andriko told this magazine that the feud centred on youths from…

One-Week Deadline for Timber Operators Northern Bahr el Ghazal’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has given chainsaw owners seven days to renew logging permits or leave the woods. Minister Garang Chan Atak says the sweep intends to halt uncontrolled felling of prized species like mahogany, now vanishing from community lands. Deforestation and Climate Concerns Chan warns that rapid tree loss accelerates desertification and disrupts rainfall patterns already erratic in the semi-arid state. He likens vegetation to human lifespans, arguing that safeguarding forests today determines the ecological health of the next generation. Officials report previous arrests for unlicensed cutting, yet mobile…