The Government of South Sudan under the President Salva Kiir is continuing to burn the midnight oil to find solutions to the political problems bedeviling the nascent country.
It is now evident that South Sudan is in a desperate need to salvage its inept and incompetent leadership. On August 13, 2025, an Aljazeera English outlet published a story titled; ‘Israel, South Sudan in talks over forced transfer of Palestinians.’
I congratulate this news media for airing this very emotive and extraordinary deal for wider readership.
Chances are that if this deal were unpacked by a media outlet other than Al Jazeera and The Independent of the UK, the vast majority would doubt the information.
I believe a few people will ignore this information. I first read the news in The Independent newspaper. However, I did not take the news seriously, until when people started sharing the one of Al Jazeera on various South Sudanese social media platforms.
Al Jazeera media stated that: ‘Israel is in discussion with South Sudan about forcibly relocating Palestinians from Gaza to the East African country, according to the people familiar with the matter who spoke to the Associated Press.’’
The Independent stated: ‘‘Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly in talks with South Sudan about resettling Palestinians from Gaza amid the ongoing Israel offensive on the embattled strip.’’ Although the talks were still sketchy, the negotiations between the two countries were at an advanced stage. In a rejoinder, South Sudan, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, issued a statement, stating: ‘‘These claims are baseless and do not reflect the official position and policy of the government of the Republic of South Sudan.’’
They say that there is no smoke without a fire. Two reputable international media houses cannot lie at the same time.
South Sudanese and all the people of goodwill should ask this fundamental question: Between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Al Jazeera and The Independent newspaper, who can we believe on the alleged Israel-South Sudan deal?
I am confident that the public would believe the latter. In this controversial deal, South Sudan and her transactional leadership was probably aiming to gain some kickbacks. In addition, the South Sudan government has lost its integrity and international reputation by virtue that most of her office holders were facing both economic and travel sanctions.
Al Jazeera is a renowned media outlet and has legal obligations to disseminate news in accordance with the people’s right to information and to make informed choices.
More often than not, Al Jazeera works strictly in line with Article 19 of the of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which stipulates that ‘‘everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression: this right includes the freedom to hold opinion without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and enjoy freedom of the press.
The freedom of expression is also the right to speak, which is a three in one, namely the right to voice political opinion, right of free and independent media to report without fear, interference, persecution and discrimination, and the right to hold government accountable.
If South Sudan’s ministry is honest, let them sue Al Jazeera and The Independent. Until they lodge a case against the aforementioned, we shall treat the officials of government of South Sudan as naysayers.
In this controversial deal, South Sudan is making a landmark political realignment. Over the years, South Sudan has been standing with one leg in the Arab League and another elsewhere. South Sudan has been pretending to be a non-aligned but they say; a ‘‘friend to all is a friend to none’’.
With the concluding of the ongoing war in the Middle East, South Sudan wants to fully put her two legs on Israel’s side, considering that Palestinian authorities appear to be on the losing side.
It would be recalled that this is not the first time South Sudan sided with Israel in her combats against the Palestinian government.
In the wake of the Hamas’ attack on Israeli territory, South Sudan spoke in a war language, which suggested that it stood with the Israelis.
On October 9, 2023, President Kiir wrote a one-page letter to Netanyahu in which he stated: ‘‘I write on behalf of the Government and people of South Sudan to express my deepest sympathies to you and the people of Israel for the people you have lost to the heinous and unprovoked terror attack by Hamas this weekend. No number of political grievances can ever justify the killing of innocent civilians. Your excellency, while you grapple with the magnitude of this terror, the government and the people of South Sudan stand in solidarity with you and all the Israelis at this difficult moment in your country’s history.’’
In Latin, they say Res Ipsa Loquitur,’ which means: ‘‘The thing speaks for itself.” Undoubtedly, the aforementioned letter speaks for Itself.
Finally, by making this deal, Israel is seeking to defeat the two-state solution, which was proposed by the African Union and the rest of the world.
Of course, the two-state solution shall not be accorded without Palestine pulling up its socks. In other words, Palestinians will strive to fulfil the legal requirements of a statehood provided in Montevideo Convention of 1933.
These requirements include having a permanent population and government. If the Israel and South Sudan deal is approved, then the Palestinian state will have no permanent population and government, and hence, the proposal of two state solution will die a natural death.
The writer, Dak Buoth Riek-Gaak, is lawyer, criminologist, and former delegate to the High-Level Mediation for South Sudan alias Tumaini Peace Initiative where he represented the South Sudan People’s Movement (eligodakb@yahoo.com)
The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.