Museveni Briefed by Kiir on South Sudan’s Escalating Security Crisis
kakooza Peter
Saturday, April 5, 2025
On Thursday, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir held a high-level closed-door meeting with Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in Juba to discuss the rapidly deteriorating security situation in South Sudan.
President Museveni became the first Head of State to visit South Sudan since the conflict intensified in early March. He was warmly received by President Kiir and ushered into a confidential meeting alongside a strong Ugandan delegation.
The Ugandan team included Defense and Veteran Affairs Minister Jacob Oboth Oboth, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Malimba John, Senior Presidential Advisor on Defense and Security Gen. Proscovia Nalweyiso, and Ugandan Ambassador to South Sudan, Brig. Ronnie Balya, among others.
On the South Sudanese side, President Kiir was flanked by key officials including Minister of Presidential Affairs Chol Mawut Ajongo, Foreign Affairs Minister Ramadan Muhammed Abdalla, and Defense Minister Chol Thon Balok.
Although Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel did not take part in the closed-door discussions, he was later introduced to Museveni by President Kiir—further fueling speculation that he may be Kiir’s preferred successor.
Following the meeting, South Sudan's Foreign Minister Ramadan Goc confirmed that Museveni had been fully briefed on the current developments.
“We informed President Museveni and his delegation about the security situation in the country and the current status of the peace agreement,” Goc told the press.
The discussion centered on the fragile state of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), which since 2018 had enabled the formation of a transitional government of national unity.
However, tensions are once again boiling over. The recent arrest of Dr. Riek Machar, the leader of the armed opposition and a key signatory to the R-ARCSS, has sparked fears of the peace accord collapsing. The arrest has already triggered widespread condemnation from the United Nations, African Union, IGAD, and several diplomatic missions.
Uganda’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Malimba John, emphasized that the dialogue also extended beyond bilateral issues.
“We discussed peace and security not just between Uganda and South Sudan, but also in the wider region,” he noted.
President Museveni has long been seen as a strategic ally of Kiir and a central figure in regional peace negotiations, particularly the 2018 agreement that brought an end to South Sudan’s devastating civil war. However, Uganda’s recent troop deployments into South Sudan have drawn criticism, with opposition voices accusing Kampala of interfering in South Sudanese internal affairs.
Historically, Uganda has played a pivotal role in South Sudan—both as a military supporter of the Juba administration and as a regional peace broker. The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) have intervened in South Sudan before, most notably during the civil war between 2013 and 2016.
As the security situation continues to unravel, all eyes are now on the regional powers to stabilize the country before the fragile peace deal unravels completely.
