The Embassy of South Sudan in Kenya has been closed over unpaid rent arrears, according to embassy staff and South Sudanese residents who visited the mission.
The embassy, located in Nairobi’s Kilimani neighbourhood, was closed on Tuesday, Aug. 11, according to a staff member who spoke to Radio Tamazuj.
The staff member said the government had fallen four months behind on rent payments, although the amount owed could not immediately be independently verified.
“The embassy is currently closed. It was closed yesterday. The embassy will remain closed until the government intervenes,” the staff member said.
A South Sudanese citizen who identified himself as Stephen said he went to the embassy to process travel documents but was turned away by security guards.
“I went to the embassy to process some documents, like a travel document, but I found it closed,” he said. “The security at the gate told me that the embassy had been closed the previous day. When I asked why, he said he was not aware.”
Radio Tamazuj was unable to reach Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Apuk Ayuel Mayen for comment.
Edmund Yakani, a South Sudanese civil society leader, described the closure of the embassy as damaging to the country’s image and diplomatic interests.
“The leadership of the country has to prioritise financing our foreign missions as a budget priority,” Yakani said.
“The absence of functional foreign missions demonstrates a lack of appetite for foreign engagement, which is a strategic mistake in regional and global politics and undermines the pursuit of national interests,” he added.
The closure comes days after Ambassador Simon Juach Deng, who was recently appointed to head South Sudan’s mission in Kenya, bid farewell to President Salva Kiir in Juba on Aug. 6. He is expected to take up his post in Nairobi in September.
Kiir urged newly appointed diplomats to uphold high standards of professionalism and dedication in representing South Sudan’s interests abroad.
The Nairobi embassy has previously faced closure over unpaid rent. In November 2025, it was also closed after falling behind on rental payments.
According to reports, Senior Presidential Envoy for Special Programmes Adut Salva Kiir paid three months of rent for the embassy earlier this year.
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, and the Nairobi embassy has served as one of the country’s key diplomatic missions since then.
South Sudan has been grappling with a severe fiscal and cash-flow crisis, with its economy heavily dependent on oil revenues.
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