South Sudan’s Ambassador to Uganda, Simon Juach Deng, has revealed that the embassy has negotiated with the Government of Uganda to waive and exempt South Sudanese from paying USD 100 for a student’s pass annually.
He also said his office is also momentarily involved in negotiations with the Ugandan Government to remove dependants visas for the approximately 70,000 South Sudanese domiciled in Uganda. Radio Tamazuj caught up with him and sounded him out about the relations between the two countries, the situation of South Sudanese refugees in Uganda, and tensions between communities who straddle the common border among other issues.
Below are edited excerpts:
Q: Ambassador, we heard that South Sudanese students in Uganda have been exempted from paying for student passes. Is this correct?
A: The immigration law in Uganda says that any foreign nationals above the age of 4 years enrolled in a learning institution in Uganda must have a student pass. This pass is granted for 3, 6, or 12 months. Our students were asked to pay USD 100 each to get this pass for one year. The student leadership brought this issue before my office during the 16 May (SPLA Day) celebrations. We said that this is not acceptable and we cannot be treated as international students within East Africa. According to Ugandan laws, East Africans are exempted. I took it up to the Ugandan government and told them that we are also part of East Africa but our students are being charged as international students.
However, it took a while to get a response. On 9 July 2023, I brought the issue up again and wrote a complaint to the Ugandan foreign ministry. We finally received a positive response (on 6 September) that South Sudanese students have been exempted from the student pass. This is going to be a big benefit to our people since we have more than 30,000 students in Uganda.
Q: How many South Sudanese students are enrolled in the learning institutions in Uganda both at the primary, high school, and university levels?
A: We have approximately 70,000 nationals living in Uganda. 20,000 are enrolled in university. Each of the 20,000 students was paying 100 USD for the visa, which means 2 million USD every year. Now this money is going to serve their families. I know this is small but it is something we will appreciate and the families will not be worried about the visa fees anymore.
Q: When will the decision to waive the fee for South Sudanese students be effective?
A: It is with immediate effect 6 September. Additionally, we will hold a press conference to inform our students about it because some people were benefiting from charging this fee and they might still charge people. But now I am asking our students to be advocates for themselves so that when they go to the immigration office and are asked to pay, they can show them the paper.
That is what we are going to do exactly with the student union. I am also going to inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Uganda, the Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry of East African Affairs and hold a joint press conference.
Thereafter, I will give a copy of the decision to the student’s union and tell them to advocate for themselves, I did my part, and you need now to speak for yourself. If you are charged, let us know, and we will track down who did it.
Q: Will the same decision be taken in Rwanda and Burundi as well?
A: Every country in East Africa has its way of doing things. When I took the job and came to the embassy I found this issue. I said this was not right and we should talk on our behalf. Some people told me this was not possible and that this was the law of Uganda. How are you going to change it? I said we are members of the East African Community and it is clear in the law that East Africans are exempted.
If we do not speak, nobody is going to give us our rights. That is why in less than 4 months we were able to do this.
We did not receive any complaints from Rwanda. I will soon be traveling with my team there to provide support. We currently have nearly 2,500 students there (Rwanda). We did not receive any complaint from them about students’ passes but they are facing other issues with travel documents and passports and we are going to support them.
Q: Are there any efforts to also waive or reduce visa fees for South Sudanese families resident in Uganda?
A: We are in ongoing negotiations between our immigration and the Ugandan immigration office on the issue of dependency visas. We have agreed on some points with the Ugandan government and we have invited our Director General of Immigration to come and meet with his Ugandan counterpart to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to that effect. We have the issue of unlawful charges at Nimule while crossing the border, for example where immigration officers ask you to pay. We are saying that is illegal and we are going to sign the MoU so that every citizen will know what their rights are. The MoU was drafted last year and we are waiting for our Director General of Immigration to come to Kampala so that we sign it.
Q: Are there any tensions at the border between South Sudan and Uganda?
A: There is no tension between Uganda and South Sudan. What is there is tension between the local communities at the border where people are fighting over farmland. We reached out to the governments of Central and Eastern Equatoria states and now we are mobilizing to have community-level peace and social cohesion activities so that people can sit down and talk.
The border issue is the responsibility of the national government. There is a border committee in Juba and Kampala and they are the ones who discuss any border issues. We and the governors and commissioners are responsible for making sure that trading goes very well and that our people live peacefully. That is what we are doing now.
Q: Ambassador Juach, as the situation in South Sudan is currently relatively peaceful, did you receive any reports that South Sudanese refugees in Uganda want to return home?
A: On 30 July 2023, I paid a field visit to our communities in the refugee camps in northern Uganda. People are willing to go back home and we have seen the sign because peace has been sustained. There is support from the Government of Uganda and UNHCR for those who want to return. If there are people who want to return, they can let us, UNHCR, and the Government of Uganda know and they will be supported to return and settle back home.
So, people are appreciative. I went up to Kaya and some people returned to South Sudan. Peace is here and we need to encourage and maintain that.
Q: Ambassador, what is your final message as we conclude this interview?
A: My message for South Sudanese in the country and abroad is to unite and function together. When we decide to unite and function together, nobody can use us. An example is our national basketball team which went from nothing to number one in Africa and we are competing around the world. Our basketball team has united the people from all corners of South Sudan. When people were watching the game, there was that little boy called Emma who is now our hero, and we need to promote him so that we do not say it is that little boy who cried when the South Sudan team lost. Imagine that little boy has identified with the flag of South Sudan and became emotional.
That is the spirit we want to have, we have to be proud of our country regardless of the challenges. My message is also for our students in Rwanda. When you go to Rwanda as a student, you must have an admission letter and have money in your account because some people go there and then seek asylum. If you face any issues please reach out to your embassy in Kampala and we will be able to help and provide consular services.
I know our people are law-abiding but let us maintain peace, let us be united, and see ourselves as brothers and sisters.