FILE PHOTO: Upper Nile State Governor Jacob Dollar Ruot addressing a high-level consultative meeting with state leaders in Juba, November 2, 2025. Courtesy of the Governor's Office.

MALAKAL, Upper Nile State (Eye Radio) – Governor Jacob Dollar Ruot of Upper Nile State has warned that the government will take action against any leaders found prolonging the suffering of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Malakal.

Speaking during a church service in Malakal, on Sunday, November 9, Governor Dollar focused his remarks on the sharp disparity between citizens living in Protection of Civilian (PoC) sites, who are currently displaced due to fear for their lives, and those who are “living comfortably in town, eating and sleeping in nice places.”

“It’s not good when we allow some people living in as IDPs in PoC because they fear for their lives, and others are living comfortably in town, eating and sleeping in nice places because they don’t fear for their lives. Why is this happening?” Governor Ruot questioned, implying a willful neglect or even sabotage of the IDP situation by figures within the state.

In an unprecedented warning, Governor Dollar specifically addressed internal actors he suggested were happy to see their people suffer, vowing government intervention regardless of ethnic affiliation.

“Some leaders who are here are happy to see our people living in bad conditions as IDPs,” he stated.

“Whether you are Nuer, Shulluk or Dinka, I must warn you, I will deal with you if you are the reason for the suffering of our people, not me, myself as a person, but as a government.”

The Governor concluded his address by cutting through political and ethnic tensions with a singular, urgent demand: total support for restoring peace.

“What I need from you now is to help me stabilize the Upper Nile state, nothing else,” Ruot concluded, making it clear that the immediate priority of his administration is to end the cycle of violence and displacement that continues to plague the region.

The Malakal Protection of Civilians (PoC) site has been a significant source of tension and sensitivity in Malakal County during and after the 2013 conflict.

As of August 7, 2025, 36,765 internally displaced persons (IDPs) were biometrically registered as active residents at the Malakal Protection of Civilians (PoC) site in South Sudan.