Truck drivers from Kenya and Tanzania who transport shipments of goods into South Sudan are being kidnapped, robbed, beaten and sometimes even killed.
The South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) have just confirmed and disclosed that Kenyan truck drivers were among those kidnapped by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) rebels during the recent wave of hijackings on the Juba-Terekeka Road.
Previously, there were reports that several Tanzanian lorry drivers were being attacked, killed and injured in South Sudan.
According to the Spokesperson of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces Major General Lul Ruai Koang, a number of driving licences and national identification documents belonging to Kenyan truckers have been recovered, confirming their nationality.
Latest incidents involve two trucks that were ambushed in May while traveling from Bahr El Ghazal to Juba.
The first ambush, between Koda and Nyori, resulted in the death of one Somali national and the destruction of a truck.
The second incident, near Golu-Machar in Awiel North County, Northern Bahr El Ghazal State, involved a 30-tonne truck with registration number SSD 545 AJ carrying commercial goods and six crew members, including the Kenyan drivers.
The truck was hijacked and driven toward an SPLA-IO base in Bye Bye, where the rebels offloaded the cargo after the vehicle stalled.
A subsequent rescue operation by National Security Service NSS-ISB personnel, led by Colonel Makoi Mayiei, freed four hostages—one South Sudanese and three Sudanese nationals—but two individuals, believed to be the Kenyan drivers, remain missing.
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SSPDF) has issued a stern warning to armed elements in Terekeka County, Central Equatoria State, accusing them of collaborating with SPLA-IO rebels in these attacks, and threatened surgical operations if such activities persist.
Major General Lul urged motorists to avoid night travel and reiterated the military’s commitment to securing the roads to Juba.