The confirmation and denial of Ugandan troop deployment to South Sudan has exposed serious governance and transparency issues, eroded trust, and possibly escalated conflict and invited broader regional interference. This marks Uganda’s second major deployment to our country in under a decade—another troubling example of how President Yoweri Museveni has propped up President Kiir’s intransigent savagery so that his family can continue to cash in at the expense of peace and stability in South Sudan and the region. This toxic relationship has profound negative implications for South Sudan and Uganda.
For South Sudan, relying on foreign military support—especially from a country with which South Sudan has unresolved border disputes—to manage internal power struggles not only reinforces the perception that our national army is weakened and incapable but also exposes us to external exploitation and harassment. When a nation depends on a foreign force to settle domestic conflicts, it signals to neighbouring countries that South Sudan cannot defend its people and territorial integrity. This emboldens those with vested interests in a fragmented and destabilised South Sudan, knowing they can assert influence or encroach upon our sovereignty without fear of resistance.
South Sudanese still remember Uganda’s solidarity during our protracted liberation wars. For many years, we found refuge across the border; countless families survived because our neighbours opened their homes to us. Unfortunately, that cherished bond has been tested since 2013, when Ugandan soldiers were first deployed to support one side in our conflict and allegedly committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious human rights violations in the process.
Many in South Sudan now perceive Uganda as aiding a government viewed by ordinary citizens as oppressive, illegitimate, and disconnected from their plight. Many South Sudanese now believe Uganda no longer stands with ordinary citizens but with a party that is a party of national government widely seen as brutal and self-serving.
The deployment history in South Sudan reveals a pattern: whenever relations between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar sour, Kiir reportedly pays for Ugandan military involvement to quash Machar’s forces. This portrays Uganda as a sectarian actor, damages Uganda’s credibility, inflames tensions in South Sudan, and invites other regional players into the fray. Rather than mediating and helping to forge peace, Uganda appears to be taking sides in a conflict that risks broader regional destabilisation.
UPDF used to be one of the most respected military forces in the region, and its involvement in regional and international peacekeeping attests to that. However, these questionable deployments in South Sudan will only continue to fuel the impression that UPDF has now become “guns for hire” by the highest bidder and a tool used by the first family to secure and manage their businesses in the region, thereby transforming it from a force for stability into one that fosters regional instability. This, in turn, risks UPDF’s international support in training and logistics, ultimately weakening it in a very turbulent region.
The region and the international community must see this development for what it is: Uganda has become entangled in internal power struggles in South Sudan rather than being a stabilising influence. The United Nations, African Union, IGAD, and other international bodies must pressure Uganda to withdraw its forces and redirect its efforts toward genuine peace mediation. Meanwhile, the South Sudanese themselves—whose resilience propelled them through years of liberation warfare—should reject any external interference that undermines their sovereignty and exacerbates their internal fragilities.
The government of South Sudan cannot dismantle its national military in favour of a foreign force. Instead of sending millions of dollars to Uganda in exchange for the UPDF’s involvement, it should direct those funds toward paying the salaries of our unified forces. After all, true liberation can only be achieved by the people, for the people.
Most Ugandans bear no ill will toward South Sudan, and South Sudanese remain committed to the values of good neighbourliness. Our pride in our history of self-determination is profound. We therefore call on our government to uphold these ideals and abandon any policies that transform Uganda into an aggressor.
As an elder statesman and liberation veteran, it will be tragic for the legacy of the president of Uganda that the South Sudan he helped liberate he also helped destroy and that the liberation forces that he used to help liberate Uganda and build into a formidable and respected army he has now helped to turn into regional mercenaries who anyone with money can hire to sort out their domestic affairs.
The writer, Dr. Remember Miamingi, is a South Sudanese expert in governance and human rights, as well as a political commentator. He can be contacted via email at remember.miamingi@gmail.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.