Ugandans demand bodies of truck drivers killed in South Sudan

Long-distance truck drivers have demanded the release of four bodies of their colleagues killed in South Sudan.

Between July and August 2021, four truck drivers one Ugandan and three Kenyans delivering cargo goods to South Sudan’s capital, Juba were shot dead by unknown gunmen while dozens of them remain hospitalized to nurse gunshot wounds.

Sudi Mwatela, the Chairperson of Long-Distance Truck Drivers Association revealed that several truckers remain uncounted for. He identified the dead truckers as Musa Kalyowa, Isaac Ouma Ofwa, Haruna Abdullahi Ore and Issa Salat.

Last week, the truck drivers protested the killings of their colleagues by parking their trucks at Elegu Township in Amuru District demanding security guarantees on the highway and bodies of their slain colleagues.

Joseph Nyeko, a taxi operator plying the Elegu-Nimule-Nimule-Juba route says they have also suspended their operations after nine passengers aboard a Noah taxi were all killed in an ambush in Jubek County.

Geoffrey Oceng Osborn, the Amuru Resident District Commissioner says that they have resolved that the truckers conduct their strike peacefully without inconveniencing activities at the Ugandan boar side.

Oceng further explained that they also rallied the drivers from the different member states to contact their respective consulates in South Sudan to present their grievances to the Juba administration.

In April, the truckers suspended travels to South Sudan following increased deadly attacks on foreign drivers that resulted in the death of more than 15 drivers and left dozens injured. Over 40 cargo trucks were also torched between March and April.

The resurgence of armed violence continues to threaten trade within the East African bloc. South Sudan is a landlocked country that heavily relies on neighbours – Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya for the importation of essential goods and supplies to support her economy.

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