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Uganda army says will take 3 South Sudan soldiers to court

Author: Sebit Patrick | Published: July 22, 2024

Map of Magwi County.

The Ugandan army has alleged that the three SSPDF soldiers whom it arrested at the South Sudan border illegally crossed international boundary lines and will be tried in court, amid accusations that the UPDF itself is encroaching on South Sudan soil.

On 26, June 2024, military sources in Magwi County of Eastern Equatoria State indicated that three South Sudanese soldiers had been detained by the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF).

The Ugandan army reportedly invited the soldiers from Owing-ki-bul training center for a meeting across the border before they were apprehended.

The South Sudan army chief, General Santino Deng, was said to have written to his Ugandan counterpart on July 19 to request the release of the servicemen.

However, UPDF Public Information Officer in Northern Uganda, Capt. Favorite Rugumayo, alleged that the South Sudanese soldiers violated international boundary laws.

In an interview with Eye Radio on Monday, Capt. Rugumayo said the detained officers had illegally crossed the Uganda border while in possession of firearms.

“Previously, we have been arresting soldiers who have been crossing the international borders without authority without documents, and we have been handing over back to South Sudan,” he said.

“But this time, it has gone beyond, and we are going to charge these soldiers in our military court because it is criminal for a soldier to cross an international border without authority, without clear document allowing him to cross. So they are going to be prosecuted anytime.”

According to Capt. Rugumayo, the SSPDF servicemen will first be tried before a court of law which will determine their release.

He further said the soldiers could be released due to existing mutual relationship between the two countries.

“Given that there is diplomacy with South Sudan, if the strategic sees that it is better for them to be taken back into South Sudan, well and good. But currently, as 5th division infantry, we arrested these people and the truth is we are going to prosecute.”

Meanwhile, the UPDF has been accused by Eastern Equatoria Authorities of heavy deployment along the Pogee – Ngom-oromo border and establishment of settlements in South Sudan territories.

The UPDF reportedly established a base in the area on June 30, 2024.

On July 11, Magwi County Commissioner Mr. Pole-pole Benjamin Olum confirmed “a huge presence” of UPDF, adding that the Ugandan troops have deployed inside South Sudan.

Meanwhile, EES Governor Louis Lobong confirmed the situation and called on the national border committees tasked with the responsibility of addressing colonial border disputes to speed up on identification of the borders.

Over the past years, South Sudan officials at the border have complained about incidents of encroachment intervention, and harassment along border areas of Pogee and Owinykibul.

The modern-day international boundary between South Sudan and Uganda has its origins as a colonial administrative line separating Anglo–Egyptian Sudan from the Uganda Protectorate, both colonies then managed by the United Kingdom.

Today, it runs from the tripoint with Kenya in the east for approximately 500 km to the tripoint with the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the west.

However, there are several locations on the boundary that were originally described in unclear terms, which have led to at least two areas of boundary disputes between South Sudan and Uganda.

According to Sovereign Limits, lack of government control, problems with refugees, and general lawlessness in border regions have made demarcation and formalization of the international boundary between South Sudan and Uganda almost impossible.

 

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