Author: The South Sudan Herald

A Sudden Loss in Aweil The quiet town of Aweil is reeling after 70-year-old farmer Mayen Ayuel died from suspected rabies at Aweil Civil Hospital on Thursday. His three-week struggle began with a seemingly ordinary dog bite, but progressed to severe salivation and respiratory distress that doctors could no longer reverse (hospital records). Why Rabies Remains Deadly Health educator Luka Lual Aleu notes that rabies kills almost 100 percent of patients once symptoms emerge, making early vaccination the only reliable protection. In Ayuel’s case, clinicians first suspected another illness, losing precious hours before neurological signs clarified the diagnosis, a common…

Economic Hardship Drives Self-Medication At dawn, motorbike taxi rider Nelson, 26, swallows four 100-milligram tablets before weaving through Juba’s traffic. With food prices surging, the opioid blunts hunger and fatigue, allowing longer shifts. He recalls first using the drug in 2023, when a friend suggested it as “cheap energy.” Today, he calls it “a daily ticket to survive a brutal economy.” Medicine Turned Street Fuel Tramadol, licensed globally for moderate postoperative pain, is now crushed into tea, Coca-Cola or plain water on Juba sidewalks, creating an instant stimulant fashionable among rickshaw drivers and laborers. Peter Moses, 22, says he consumes…

Origins of a Voice for Freedom Born in Twic County during the Anglo-Egyptian era, Bona Malwal Madut Ring entered journalism because it offered a megaphone to suppressed communities. Friends say his conviction that words matter crystallised amid the post-colonial turbulence that engulfed Sudan’s southern provinces. Early mentors recall a studious youth devouring newspapers at Rumbek Secondary, later reading politics at the University of Khartoum. The seeds of dissent, they note, were sown not in anger but in a lawyerly insistence on constitutional guarantees promised by independence. Sedition Trial that Shocked Khartoum On 26 May 1965 the English-language daily Vigilant printed…

SPLM Eyes Inclusive Era Juba witnessed an unexpected political overture on Friday as the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement announced an open-door dialogue with every opposition faction (Standard Zone News). The declaration, made after a consultative session chaired by President Salva Kiir, seeks to break a cycle of stalled negotiations that has weighed on national unity. Strategic Calculus Before 2026 Ballot Party leaders framed the gathering as a forward-looking exercise to revitalize the movement ahead of the December 2026 general elections. Officials argue that engaging rivals now will widen political space, reduce tensions and foster conditions for a credible vote. Secretary…

Fast start in Radès sets an electric mood Group C closed in Radès with an atmosphere worthy of a continental final. Cameroon, seeking to even their record, met a South Sudan side fresh from an emphatic win over Cape Verde. Tip-off energy hinted at a gripping defensive duel, and the crowd sensed stakes. Cameroon’s defensive web strangles the Bright Stars From the opening quarter, Cameroon pressed full-court and clogged passing lanes. South Sudan’s usually fluid offense managed only 56 points, eleven below their tournament average. “We trusted our rotations and stayed disciplined,” a Cameroonian assistant coach noted after the match…

Fragile Ground Routes Non-developed infrastructure shapes every journey across South Sudan. Heavy rains swamp feeder roads, while dry-season dust erodes what little tarmac exists. With aviation skills and facilities also sparse, moving staff or medicines by land or commercial carrier regularly shifts from difficult to impossible. UNHAS: A Critical Air Bridge Against this backdrop, the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service remains the only common, reliable lift for relief agencies. Its aircraft shuttle personnel and life-saving cargo from Juba and other hubs to deep-field strips unreachable by scheduled airlines. Field coordinators describe the flights as a ‘sky lifeline’ that compresses multi-day…

Crisis Unfolds in Egyptian Capital Two South Sudanese domestic workers have accused a Sudanese entrepreneur in Cairo of violent confinement, sparking concern among migrant communities across North and East Africa. Allegations of Forced Detention The women claim they were beaten, threatened, and compelled to pose naked while electric shocks enforced obedience. They say the employer, identified only as Mayada, withheld passports and forbade outside contact, operating without any notification to Egyptian authorities. Community Voices Demand Accountability Santino Akot Deng Bol, who leads the South Sudanese Community in Cairo, urged Egyptian law enforcement to ‘set an example for anyone who dares…

Social Platforms Under Scrutiny in Juba A South Sudanese rights coalition has flagged risks in using open social networks to select members of the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing. The selection panel recently asked citizens to post views on candidates via WhatsApp and Facebook, a move that raised immediate eyebrows among civil society monitors in Juba. CTRH’s Role in the 2018 Peace Accord The commission, promised in the 2018 revitalised peace agreement, is mandated to examine wartime abuses and propose remedies that can knit the nation back together. Observers see its membership as pivotal; public endorsement is expected to…

Governors seal historic accord Governors of Central Equatoria and Jonglei, alongside the Chief Administrator of Greater Pibor, met in Juba and signed a thirteen-point communiqué designed to stem cattle raids, child abductions and deadly ambushes along the Juba-Bor highway. Expanded regional framework They invited Eastern Equatoria to join future deliberations, creating a four-corner framework meant to improve intelligence sharing, coordinate patrols and ensure that security forces respond simultaneously on both sides of porous state lines. Mechanisms for joint action include quarterly rotating meetings, a permanent high-level committee of the four top leaders, and a crisis management team that gathers security…

Spiral of Revenge in Cueibet Cueibet town woke to shock on Thursday after youth leader Makol Bol Agok was fatally shot near the county headquarters. Witnesses link the attack to the earlier killing of a Pancinyiny chief, reigniting an old feud between Pagor and Pancinyiny neighbours. Local security rushed to scene but the gunman escaped into surrounding woodlands. Officials describe the incident as calculated retribution, underscoring a long pattern of tit-for-tat violence that has claimed dozens of lives across Lakes State in recent years. Authorities Deploy Security Forces Acting state information minister William Koji Kirjok said additional troops are patrolling…