Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Landau|Courtesy of AP

WASHINGTON, (Eye Radio) – Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Landau has cautioned Juba against further escalating the revocation of visas for its citizens, stressing that the South Sudanese Washington-based Embassy had issued an emergency travel letter to the Congolese’s nationality as South Sudanese.

Landau was reacting to criticism of his previous statement, which he said some people claimed did not explain why the South Sudanese government refused to accept the repatriated individual.

On April 5, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked all visas for South Sudanese citizens and halted the entry of new arrivals, citing the country’s failure to accept the return of deported nationals.

Rubio accused Juba of failing to cooperate with the US and stated that every nation must accept the return of its citizens promptly when another country seeks to remove them.

In a statement on Monday, South Sudan’s foreign ministry said the man, who presented himself under the name Nimeri Garang, turned out to be a Congolese national named Makula Kintu.

According to Foreign Minister Spokesperson Ambassdor Apouk Ayuel, after verification, upon his arrival at Juba International Airport, immigration officials discovered that he was not the rightful holder of the document.

Mr. Kintu admitted during an interview at the airport that he comes from the Fir tribe in Northern Kivu Province in eastern DRC.

Amb, Apouk said Juba regretted the escalation of the matter, adding that it should not have led to the broad visa suspension.

Apouk reaffirmed the government’s willingness to work with U.S. authorities to resolve it.

In response, Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Landau clarified that South Sudan’s Embassy in Washington certified this particular individual as one of their nationals.

“Specifically, on February 13, 2025, the South Sudanese Embassy issued the individual an emergency travel letter certifying his nationality as South Sudanese and giving his date and place of birth (in what is now South Sudan, which then was part of Sudan).”

Landau said “in reliance on that letter, the US Government, at US taxpayer expense, transferred this person almost halfway around the world, to Juba, South Sudan” as “the Embassy’s certification is conclusive and the matter is closed.”

“We cannot have a repatriation system that allows foreign governments to reopen and relitigate eligibility for repatriation after those very governments had previously certified such eligibility and an individual has been repatriated,” he said.

Mr Landau hopes the Government of South Sudan will recognize its obligation to accept this individual and hence prevent this situation from escalating even further.