South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday announced the release of 27 young South Sudanese cattle herders who had been jailed in Ethiopia.
The announcement comes a week after ministry spokesperson Apuk Ayuel Mayen said the government was coordinating with Ethiopian authorities to secure the group’s release.
The herders, who are from Eastern Equatoria state, were detained in Muzan Prison after allegedly crossing into Ethiopia illegally.
“We have good news. The ministry has been engaging with the Ethiopian government regarding the plight of these 27 youth,” Mayen told reporters at a weekly press briefing. “They have been released and are now awaiting transportation back to the country.”
Mayen said the government is arranging to repatriate the group to their home areas “in the coming days.”
In a separate development, the ministry also said discussions are ongoing with the governments of six foreign nationals currently in South Sudan after being deported from the United States.
“In regards to the deportees we received, there were seven third-country nationals. One has already been released,” Mayen said. “We are conducting high-level engagements with their countries of origin to arrange repatriation, if possible.”
She emphasized that the South Sudanese government would not force the deportees to leave.
“As I said last time, we will not force them to go. Their return must be voluntary, and the home governments must also be willing to receive them,” she said.
Ministry declines to comment on UN report
The Foreign Ministry declined to comment Thursday on a new United Nations report that accuses South Sudan’s political elite of widespread corruption.
The U.N. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan released the report Wednesday, calling for urgent reforms and accountability. The report, titled “Plundering a Nation: How Rampant Corruption Unleashed a Human Rights Crisis in South Sudan,” alleges that $1.7 billion in payments between 2021 and 2024 were made to companies linked to Vice President Benjamin Bol Mel for road projects that were never completed.
It also found that both oil and non-oil revenues were diverted through off-budget spending and politically connected contracts, depriving millions of citizens of basic services. Since gaining independence in 2011, South Sudan has generated more than $25 billion in oil revenue, the report said.
When asked about the report, Ambassador Mayen declined to respond.
“You’re asking for the official position of the government,” she said. “The official spokesperson of the government has already made a statement on that, and I’ll refer you to it.”