President Museveni in Juba for talks with Kiir amid tensions

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni arrived in Juba on Thursday for talks with South Sudanese leader Salva Kiir, as tensions escalate in the world’s youngest nation.

The visit aims to bolster bilateral ties and address South Sudan’s crisis, which has drawn international condemnation following the house arrest of First Vice President and opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar.

Museveni was received by Kiir at Juba International Airport in what officials described as a working visit. The Ugandan leader later confirmed his arrival in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, saying:

“I look forward to our discussions aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing cooperation between our two nations.”

Museveni has been a key mediator in regional peace efforts, including brokering South Sudan’s 2018 peace deal that ended a brutal civil war.

The talks come amid rising unrest in South Sudan after Machar and some of his allies were detained. Their arrest has sparked violence in Rejaf, Wunaliet, and Upper Nile State. The government accuses Machar of plotting rebellion, a claim his allies deny.

The United Nations, African Union, and regional leaders have condemned Machar’s detention, warning it risks destabilizing the fragile peace in the world’s youngest nation.

South Sudan’s government sought military assistance from Uganda amid the tensions. Uganda’s Defence Minister Jacob Oboth told parliament that Kiir made an urgent request on March 10 for support to avert a potential security crisis.

“Following this request, the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) was deployed on a peace enforcement mission to stabilize the situation,” Oboth said, defending the move as aligned with Uganda’s values of patriotism and Pan-Africanism.

Museveni’s visit follows a mission by Kenya’s special envoy Raila Odinga, who met Kiir last week. Odinga claimed his request to meet Machar was denied and that Kiir referred him to Museveni—an assertion dismissed by South Sudan’s presidential press secretary, David Amuor Majur.

“The suggestion that His Excellency General Salva Kiir Mayardit requested Right Honourable Raila Odinga to meet the President of Uganda misrepresents diplomatic principles,” Majur said in a Monday briefing. “It is essential to clarify that the Right Honourable Odinga’s mission to Uganda was pre-arranged and not at the direction of President Kiir.”

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